Where does “gens” come from?

Gens comes from Latin genus, meaning kind or race, descended from Proto-Indo-European ǵenh₁-, a root meaning to beget or produce.

gens (English): A legally defined unit of Roman society, being a...

Definitions

  1. A legally defined unit of Roman society, being a...

Ancestry of “gens”, step by step

gens traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Latin gēns

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1LatingēnsRoman clan (related by birth or marriage and sharing a common name and often united by certain religious rites)
2Proto-Italic*gentis—
3Proto-Indo-Europeanǵénh₁tisbirth, production
4Proto-Indo-Europeanǵenh₁-to produce, to beget, to give birth

via English generations

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishgenerationsplural of generation

Words derived from “gens”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵenh₁- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵénh₁tis →Every word from Proto-Italic *gentis →