(10-11-2021, 10:26 AM)robkelk Wrote: I hesitate to use the word "tribe" in the terminology, simply because there's a growing realization in Canada that if you aren't a member of one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel or one of the First Nations, using the word "tribe" is cultural appropriation. But that's a concern for us white folks, who'd have to come up with a different name for that level.
Seriously? Because the word "tribe" is very, very Roman. Better to tell all of the biological taxonomists that they're racist, I guess. Anyway, I think that the word "tribe" should be limited to use by descendants of Roman citizens, all of whom were members of a tribe, which means limited to (does math) approximately everyone. Though I do wonder why we use "tribal chief" when "tribune" is a perfectly cromulent word.
That said, if you're looking for a word, the anthropological words are in increasing size: lineage, clan, tribe. The extent to which these apply cleanly to real world societies varies a lot. But "family" is a good word for a lineage, the smallest sized. "Clan" is larger-sized, but also means family, just in a different language.
* Labster casts summon Dartz before you guys reinvent the feudal system in here.
"Kitto daijoubu da yo." - Sakura Kinomoto