phratry

[ frey-tree ]

/ ˈfreɪ tri /

a grouping of clans or other social units within a tribe.

(in ancient Greece) a subdivision of a phyle.

Origin of phratry

1745–55; < Greek phrātría, equivalent to phrātr-, stem of phrātḗr clansman (akin to brother) + -ia -y³

phra·tric, phra·tral, phra·tri·ac, phra·tri·al, adjective sub·phra·try, noun, plural sub·phra·tries.

The organization, as a phratry, had probably existed among the Latin tribes from time immemorial.

Ancient Society |Lewis Henry Morgan
Zeus, the god of social life, was worshipped by the phratry.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 8 |Various
A knowledge of the Indian phratry is necessary to an intelligent understanding of the Grecian and the Roman.

Ancient Society |Lewis Henry Morgan
Here I really do not know what 'clan' is meant to denote—'phratry,' I think.

Social Origins and Primal Law |Andrew Lang

The important point about the class, as distinguished from the phratry systems, is the great extent covered by the former.

Kinship Organisations and Group Marriage in Australia |Northcote W. Thomas

phratry

/ (ˈfreɪtrɪ) /

anthropol a group of people within a tribe who have a common ancestor

phratric, adjective

C19: from Greek phratria clan, from phratēr fellow clansman; compare Latin frāter brother