Table of Contents
Definition of Tribe
(noun) A group of people bound by kinship and typically associated with a particular territory.
Examples of Tribe
Tribe Pronunciation
Syllabification: tribe
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /trIEb/
- British English – /trIEb/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /traɪb/
- British English – /trʌɪb/
Usage Notes
- Plural: tribes
- This is a simplified definition of a vast continuum of societal and cultural practices. Additionally, the term often has negative connotations such as primitiveness, thus “ethic group” or “nation” are preferred terms in sociology. The Notion of the Tribe (1975) by Morton Fried (1923–1986) challenged earlier assumptions about tribes including language and ritual.
Additional Information
- Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “tribe” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- A Kinship Glossary – Michael Dean Murphy – Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences at The University of Alabama: anthropology.ua.edu
- Kinship and Descent – Tim Roufs – Cultural Anthropology, University of Minnesota Duluth: umn.edu
- Kinship Residence Rules: family.jrank.org
- The Nature of Kinship – Glossary of Terms: anthro.palomar.edu
Related Terms
Cite the Definition of Tribe
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “tribe.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved January 16, 2025 (https://sociologydictionary.org/tribe/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
tribe. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/tribe/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “tribe.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed January 16, 2025. https://sociologydictionary.org/tribe/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“tribe.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 16 Jan. 2025. <https://sociologydictionary.org/tribe/>.