English
clan
Clan comes from Irish clann ‘offspring, children of the family’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- ‘flat’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₂-‘flat’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*pléh₂-n̥t-eh₂reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plāntāreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplanta‘shoot, offspring’
- Old Welshc. 800–1150plant‘children’
- Old Irishc. 600–900cland‘children’
- Middle Irishc. 900–1200clann
- Irishc. 1200–presentclann‘offspring, children of the family’
- Englishearliest quotation 1923clan
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₂-‘flat’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*pléh₂-n̥t-eh₂reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plāntāreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplanta‘shoot, offspring’
- Old Welshc. 800–1150plant‘children’
- Old Irishc. 600–900cland‘children’
- Middle Irishc. 900–1200clann
- Irishc. 1200–presentclann‘offspring, children of the family’
- Englishearliest quotation 1923clan
Earliest quotation: 1923, P.G. Wodehouse: “As a rule, you see, I'm not lugged into…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- ‘flat’
field, floor, explain, palm, plain, planet, explanation, plane, archipelago, fluke, parma, explanatory, placenta, playa, flounder, palatine, lech, placate, planar, polonium, implacable, esplanade, pelagic, veld, floe, flay, purdah, llano, 48 more
through Proto-Italic *plāntā
through Latin planta ‘shoot, offspring’
Today it means
noun A group of people all descended from a common ancestor, in fact or belief, especially when the exact genealogies are not known.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- / clan