Where does “tribe” come from?

Tribe comes from Middle English tribe, from Old French tribu, from Latin tribus, possibly related to Proto-Indo-European tréyes meaning three, referring to the three divisions of early Roman society.

tribe (English): A socially, ethnically, or politically cohesive...

Definitions

  1. A socially, ethnically, or politically cohesive...

Ancestry of “tribe”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishtribeOne of the twelve tribes of Israel; Any tribe or...
2Old Frenchtributribe
3LatintribusOne of the three original tribes of Rome: Ramnes,...
4Latintrēsthree; 3
5Proto-Italictrēsthree
6Proto-Indo-European*tréyes—

Words derived from “tribe”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes →Every word from Proto-Italic trēs →Every word from Latin trēs →