Plural of 'gens'; groups or families with a common ancestry, particularly in ancient Rome where a gens was a clan descending from a common male ancestor.
From Latin 'gentes' (plural of 'gens'), meaning tribes or clans, borrowed directly into English to describe Roman social and familial organization structures.
The Roman gentes system is why we have the term 'gentlemen'—it originally meant men of the gentes, or men of noble clan standing, which is why it carries connotations of privilege and propriety.
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