Un clan es un grupo de personas unidas por lazos de parentesco y ascendencia, vinculado por la percepción de ser descendientes de un ancestro común. La denominación proviene del gaélico clann, que significa "hijo" o "descendiente". En algunos lugares, como la Escocia antigua, designaba al conjunto de miembros de los distintos grupos familiares. El término pasó al inglés hacia 1425, para denominar las organizaciones tribales de Irlanda y Escocia.

es.wikipedia.org · CC-BY-SA

A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolic, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a symbol of the clan's unity. When this "ancestor" is non-human, it is referred to as a totem, which is frequently an animal. The word clan is derived from clann meaning children or progeny but not family in the Irish and the Scottish Gaelic languages. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word was introduced into English in around 1425, as a label for the nature of the society of the Scottish Highlands ll. Clans in indigenous societies tend to be exogamous, meaning that their members cannot marry one another. Clans preceded more centralized forms of community organization and government and are in every country. Members may identify with a coat of arms or other symbol to show they are an independent clan.

en.wikipedia.org · CC-BY-SA