Definition of "tribe"

tribe

/tɹaɪb/

noun
plural tribes
1. (history, anthropology) An ethnic group larger than a band or clan (and which may contain clans) but smaller than a nation (and which in turn may be contained within a nation). The tribe is often the basis of ethnic identity.
2. (synecdoche) A tribal nation or people.
3. (derogatory) A nation or people in an area considered culturally primitive, such as Africa, Australia or Native America.
4. A socially cohesive group of people within a society.
  Quotations
  The thought of spending a year in close company with twitchers chilled me to the core. Not that I have anything against them, I am terribly fond of the members of the tribe, it is just that basically, they are a bunch of obsessive freaks.
  2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 26
5. A class or group of things.
  Quotations
  In 1968, estimates of the number of active reprint publishers ranged from about 20 to 100 publishers. The fact that almost 300 U.S. reprint publishers have been identified is evidence that the reprint tribe continues to increase.
  1972, Carol A. Nemeyer, Scholarly Reprint Publishing in the United States, New York, N.Y.: R. R. Bowker Co., page 7
6. (zoology) A group of apes who live and work together.
7. (taxonomy) A hierarchal rank between family and genus.
8. A group of affiliated Mardi Gras Indians.
9. The collective noun for various animals.
10. (stock breeding) A family of animals descended from some particular female progenitor, through the female line.
verb
third-person singular simple present tribes, present participle tribing, simple past and past participle tribed
1. (transitive) To distribute into tribes or classes; to categorize.
  Quotations
  Our fowl, fish, and quadruped are well tribed.
  1696-1699, William Nicolson, English Historical Library

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