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/klæn/ Listen

noun

Clan n.

A tribe or collection of families, united under a chieftain, regarded as having the same common ancestor, and bearing the same surname; as, the clan of Macdonald. "I have marshaled my clan."

A clique; a sect, society, or body of persons; esp., a body of persons united by some common interest or pursuit; sometimes used contemptuously. "Partidge and the rest of his clan may hoot me." "The whole clan of the enlightened among us."

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Etymology of 'Clan'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Clan" Quotes from Famous Books

... in the barbarous conflict of the Inch has been revived since the publication of the Fair Maid of Perth, and treated in particular at great length by Mr. Robert Mackay of Thurso, in his very curious History of the House and Clan of Mackay. Without pretending to say that he has settled any part of the question in the affirmative, this gentleman certainly seems to have quite succeeded in proving that his own worthy sept had no part in the ...

— The Fair Maid of Perth • Sir Walter Scott

... destroying its very symbol? There was only one way by which he could regain the fellowship of his companions. He must make amends by some public sacrifice, and instead of retaining the flesh of the animal for himself he must share it with the whole tribe (or clan) in a common feast, while at the same time, tensest prayers and thanks are offered to the animal for the gift of his body for food. The Magic formula demanded nothing less than this—else dread disaster would fall upon the man who sinned, and upon the whole brotherhood. Here, and ...

— Pagan & Christian Creeds - Their Origin and Meaning • Edward Carpenter

... confuted by their own absurdity. The settlement of the greatest consequence, the best authenticated, and from which the Irish deduce the pedigree of the best families, is derived from Spain: it was called Clan Milea, or the descendants of Milesius, and Kin Scuit, or the race of Scyths, afterwards known by the name of Scots. The Irish historians suppose this race descended from a person called Gathel, a Scythian by birth, an Egyptian ...

— The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. VII. (of 12) • Edmund Burke

... Social Organization Government The Clan and Marriage Property, Lands, Houses, Divorce Woman's Work ...

— The Unwritten Literature of the Hopi • Hattie Greene Lockett

... try to see us later. That man is a member of the murderous clan whom we seek. 'To-night is the night' for the exit of William Grimsby—but, perhaps we may have a stage ...

— The Voice on the Wire • Eustace Hale Ball

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