tribe en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /tɹaɪb/
Etymology
PIE word *tréyes From Middle English tribe, tribu, from Old French tribu, from Latin tribus. Doublet of tribus. Displaced native Old English hād (“tribe, group”).
Meanings
-
An ethnic group larger than a band or clan (and which may contain clans) but smaller than a nation (and which in turn may constitute a nation with other tribes). The tribe is often the basis of ethnic identity.
The Formation of Kazakh Identity: From Tribe to Nation-state
If two persons bore the same name, […] ambiguity was avoided by […] indicating their place of origin, the name of the tribe or deme being added for persons of the same town […], and the name of the country or town for foreigners […].
1945, E[lizabeth] G[idley] Withycombe, “Introduction”, in The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page xiii:There have been other encounters with uncontacted tribes in recent years. In February, a young man from an isolated Indigenous tribe in Brazil made brief contact with the outside world before returning to the Amazon rainforest.
2025 April 4, Lex Harvey and Esha Mitra, “US tourist arrested after allegedly attempting to contact ‘world’s most isolated’ tribe”, in CNN:the Twelve Tribes of Israel; Germanic tribes; Celtic tribes
-
A tribal nation or people.
This leaves for consideration of this group of small tribes, or subtribes, so far as mapped by the writer quoted, the Teule, Cazcan, and Tecuexe.
1911, Cyrus Thomas, Indian Languages of Mexico and Central America:
- (derogatory, informal) A nation or people considered culturally primitive, as may be the case in Africa, Australia or Native America.
-
A socially cohesive group of people within a society.
The thought of spending a year in close company with twitchers chilled me to the core. Not that I have anything against them, I am terribly fond of the members of the tribe, it is just that basically, they are a bunch of obsessive freaks.
2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 26:Near-synonyms: nation; ingroup
She found her tribe among fellow cross-stitchers.
-
A class or group of things.
In 1968, estimates of the number of active reprint publishers ranged from about 20 to 100 publishers. The fact that almost 300 U.S. reprint publishers have been identified is evidence that the reprint tribe continues to increase.
1972, Carol A. Nemeyer, Scholarly Reprint Publishing in the United States, New York, N.Y.: R. R. Bowker Co., →ISBN, page 7:
- A group of apes who live and work together.
-
A hierarchical rank between family and genus.
This family includes the whole of the wellknown tribe of Pigeons and Doves.
1868, David Meredith Reese, editor, (Please provide the book title or journal name), Barnes, page 184:There is good reason in favour of dividing the extensive tribe of Antelopes into two groups, differing as to characters of the dentition, and to unite these groups with the Ovines and Bovines.
1925, Karl Alfred von Zittel, Arthur Smith Woodward, Max Schlosser, Text-book of Paleontology, volume 3, Macmillan and Company, Limited, page 208:The tempo of evolution in South American hamsters was very rapid – in the course of the Pliocene and Anthropocene 40 genera were formed here, at which time a series of them attained the level of tribe and subtribe (Oxymycteri, Phyllotiini, Ichthyomyini).
1960, Doklady. Biological Sciences Sections, volumes 132–135, Washington, D.C.: American Institute of Biological Sciences, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 640, column 2:The large head and high forehead, together with the assinine ears and tail, of the Hart-Beest, render it one of the least handsome of the whole tribe of Antelopes.
1885, Thomas Bewick, Memorial Edition of Thomas Bewick's Works: A general history of quadrupeds, B. Quaritch, page 99:Almost all the tribe of antelopes are of a gentle and social nature.
1870, Delabere Pritchett Blaine, An Encyclopedia of Rural Sports, Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer, page 53:It is the most beautiful species among the whole tribe of goats; of various colours, black, white, of a faint bluish tinge, and of a shade somewhat lighter than a fawn.
1842, The Encyclopaedia Britannica, Or, Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature, volume 21, Tibet, page 256:
-
A species or group of similar species of animal.
If one wants to study the tribe of lions or the tribe of tigers, all that is necessary is to study one individual, for it has neither choice nor prerogative, but acts entirely according to the dictates of the group spirit
2022, Max Heindel, Gleanings of a Mystic: A Series of Essays on Practical Mysticism:The cod may not improperly be placed at the head of the migrating or wandering tribe of fish.
1808, G. L. Leclerc, Count de Buffon, Natural History of Birds, Fish, Insects and Reptiles, H.D. Symonds, The Cod:
- A group of affiliated Mardi Gras Indians.
- A collective noun for various animals.
-
(qualifier:stock breeding) A family of animals descended from some particular female progenitor, through the female line.
the Duchess tribe of shorthorns
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| tribes | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
tribesmember · tribehood · supertribe · tribally · tribelike · member of the tribe · tribality · subtribe · Delaware Tribe of Indians · tribeless · tribesman · tribespeople · hilltribe · intertribe · tribelet · tribeswoman · tribalist · tribesperson · Delaware Tribe of Western Oklahoma · tribemate · undertribe · tribeship · your vibe attracts your tribe · tribalism · tribalistic · criminal tribe · Grey Tribe · tribal
Synonyms
Translations (185)
alt аймак (group of people) · kk ұлыс (group of people) · ro trib (group of people) · vo tribütil (group of people) · gd seòrsa (group of people) · sq fis (group of people) · de Völklein (group of people) · rue род (group of people) · sk kmeň (group of people) · prs قَوْم (group of people) · af genusgroep (taxonomy: hierarchical rank between family and genus) · sh plȅme (group of people) · cs rod (group of people) · tr boy (group of people) · fa-ira قَبیلِه (group of people) · ltg patauta (group of people) · pl ród (group of people) · pl plemię (group of people) · vi bộ lạc (group of people) · yue 部族 (group of people) · fa-ira عَشیرِه (group of people) · mi iwi (group of people) · de Tribus (taxonomy: hierarchical rank between family and genus) · th ตระกูล (group of people) · kmr qebîle (group of people) · ms suku (group of people) · zgh ⴰⵇⴱⵉⵍ (group of people) · fo ættarbólkur (group of people) · ang þēod (group of people) · acw قَبِيلَة (group of people) · tt кабилә (group of people) · or ଜନଜାତି (group of people) · ce тукхам (group of people) · mn аймаг (group of people) · crh qabile (group of people) · ur قَوم (group of people) · tli ḵwáan (group of people) · cs kmen (group of people) · de Sippe (group of people) · fr tribu (group of people) · kum эл (group of people) · unm lakeit (group of people) · ps قبيله (group of people) · egy w-H-i-i-t-A1*B1:Z2 (group of people) · fi tribus (taxonomy: hierarchical rank between family and genus) · de Stamm (group of people) · nn stamme (group of people) · tr kabile (group of people) · lo ຊົນເຜົ່າ (group of people) · ka ტომი (group of people) · gd treubh (group of people) · ky эл (group of people) · wa tribu (group of people) · nl stam (group of people) · inh тукхам (group of people) · mn овог (group of people) · et hõim (group of people) · niq em (group of people) · bg пле́ме (group of people) · fo ættargrein (group of people) · pa قَبِیلَہ (group of people) · hy ցեղ (group of people) · ary قبيلة (group of people) · gur buuri (group of people) · cmn 部落 (group of people) · kmr eşîr (group of people) · uk пле́м'я (group of people) · lo ເຜົ່າ (group of people) · kk тайпа (group of people) · ko 민족 (group of people) · vi bộ tộc (group of people) · gl tribo (group of people) · da stamme (group of people) · ky тукум (group of people) · de Sippschaft (group of people) · mk племе (group of people) · tg ашира (group of people) · uk рід (group of people) · uz qabila (group of people) · cy llwyth (group of people) · ar عَشِيرَة (group of people) · zgh ⵜⴰⵇⴱⵉⵍⵜ (group of people) · ba ҡәбилә (group of people) · az tayfa (group of people) · tg қабила (group of people) · id suku (group of people) · es tribu (group of people) · lt gentis (group of people) · mnc ᠠᡳᠮᠠᠨ ᡥᠣᡴᡳ (group of people) · id suku bangsa (group of people) · mnc ᠠᡳᠮᠠᠨ (group of people) · de Volksstamm (group of people) · be пле́мя (group of people) · sl pleme (group of people) · ru род (group of people) · ast tribu (group of people) · hu törzs (group of people) · ur قَبِیلَہ (group of people) · cic okloshi' (group of people) · hu nemzetség (taxonomy: hierarchical rank between family and genus) · az qəbilə (group of people) · sv stam (group of people) · sk rod (group of people) · mi mātāwaka (group of people) · io tribuo (group of people) · ky уруу (group of people) · prs قَبِیلَه (group of people) · el φυλή (group of people) · sw kabila (collective noun (see at the relevant animal entry)) · be род (group of people) · ms puak (group of people) · ar قَبِيلَة (taxonomy: hierarchical rank between family and genus) · ur عَشِیرَہ (group of people) · nb folkestamme (group of people) · ko 부족 (group of people) · hi जनजाति (group of people) · eo tribo (group of people) · de Völkchen (group of people) · grc φυλή (group of people) · ja 部族 (group of people) · it tribù (group of people) · fa-ira قُوْم (group of people) · ko 겨레 (group of people) · ar قَوْم (group of people) · ug قەبىلە (group of people) · la tribus (group of people) · vo tribüt (group of people) · stq Stamme (group of people) · de Völkerschaft (group of people) · ca tribu (group of people) · hu nemzetségcsoport (taxonomy: hierarchical rank between family and genus) · he שֵׁבֶט (group of people) · te తెగ (group of people) · ja 民族 (group of people) · zdj kaɓila (group of people) · el φύλο (taxonomy: hierarchical rank between family and genus) · ar قَبِيلَة (group of people) · nb stamme (group of people) · vo pöpatribüt (group of people) · ia tribo (group of people) · fi heimo (group of people) · my အမျိုးအနွယ် (group of people) · oc tribú (group of people) · ru триба (taxonomy: hierarchical rank between family and genus) · pa ਕਬੀਲਾ (group of people) · mos buudu (group of people) · mh bwij (group of people) · az triba (taxonomy: hierarchical rank between family and genus) · km កុលសម័្ពន្ធ (group of people) · bn উপজাতি (group of people) · zza eşîr (group of people) · la tribus (taxonomy: hierarchical rank between family and genus) · si ගෝත්ර (group of people) · sh пле̏ме (group of people) · so qabiil (group of people) · ru пле́мя (group of people) · ug قوۋم (group of people) · nan-hbl 部落 (group of people) · bo སྡེ་རིགས (group of people) · da folkestamme (group of people) · fa-ira زَنْد (group of people) · yi שבֿט (group of people) · gd cinneadh (group of people) · tk taýpa (group of people) · tl tribo (group of people) · bg род (group of people) · xsv gintu (group of people) · ga treibh (group of people) · sw kabila (group of people) · my အမျိုးဇာတ် (group of people) · de Tribus (group of people) · el φύλο (group of people) · gd sliochd (group of people) · nn folkestamme (group of people) · th เผ่า (group of people) · prs عَشِیرَه (group of people) · is ættkvísl (group of people) · lv cilts (group of people) · cmn 部族 (group of people) · pt tribo (group of people) · rue пле́м'я (group of people) · de Volk (group of people) · az qövm (group of people) · tg қавм (group of people) · yue 部落 (group of people)