gens Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun family based on male descent
    name.
    • he had no sons and there was no one to carry on his name
  2. noun informal term for information
    gen.
    • give me the gen on your new line of computers

WordNet

Gens noun
Etymology
L. See Gentle, a.
Wordforms
plural Gentes
Definitions
(Rom. Hist.)
  1. A clan or family connection, embracing several families of the same stock, who had a common name and certain common religious rites; a subdivision of the Roman curia or tribe.
  2. (Ethnol.) A minor subdivision of a tribe, among American aborigines. It includes those who have a common descent, and bear the same totem.

Webster 1913