Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1400-1500
Language: Scottish Gaelic
Origin: clann 'family, race, clan', from Old Irish cland 'new growth on a plant, offspring', from Latin planta; PLANT1

clan

 noun
     
clan [countable]
1 a large group of families that often share the same name:
the Campbell clan
warring clans
2 informal a very large family:
The whole clan will be here over Christmas.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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