tribe.
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.
Meaning & usage
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 Twelve Tribes of Israel; Germanic tribes; Celtic tribes
The Formation of Kazakh Identity: From Tribe to Nation-state
A tribal nation or people.
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.
She found her tribe among fellow cross-stitchers.
A class or group of things.
A group of apes who live and work together.
A hierarchical rank between family and genus.
A species or group of similar species of animal.
A group of affiliated Mardi Gras Indians.
A collective noun for various animals.
A family of animals descended from some particular female progenitor, through the female line.
the Duchess tribe of shorthorns
Where this word comes from
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”).
To distribute into tribes or classes; to categorize.
Where this word comes from
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”).
Try it on your idea.
tribe has 5 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.