tribe
 tribe (trīb)n.
1. A unit of sociopolitical organization consisting of a number of families, clans, or other groups who share a common ancestry and culture and among whom leadership is typically neither formalized nor permanent.
2. A political, ethnic, or ancestral division of ancient states and cultures, especially:
a. Any of the three divisions of the ancient Romans, namely, the Latin, Sabine, and Etruscan.
b. Any of the 12 divisions of ancient Israel.
c. A phyle of ancient Greece.
3. A group of people sharing an occupation, interest, or habit:
a tribe of graduate students.
4. Informal. A large family.
5. Biology. A taxonomic category placed between a subfamily and a genus or between a suborder and a family and usually containing several genera. [Middle English, from Old French tribu, from Latin tribus, division of the Roman people, perhaps of Etruscan origin, or possibly from tri-, three; See trei- in Indo-European Roots.]
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