Phyle
/ˈfaɪ.li/noun
A tribe or clan, especially one of the traditional political divisions of ancient Greece.
Did you know?Ancient Greek phylē was associated with shared descent and civic belonging, while its deeper connection to “grow” also links it conceptually—and linguistically—to Greek words for nature and generation.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰuH-
“to grow, become, or come into being”
Proto-Greek
Proto-Greek
*phūlā
“A group or community understood as having grown together”
Ancient Greek
Greek
φυλή (phylḗ)
“Tribe, clan, or civic division”
Classical Athens
Greek
φυλή (phylḗ)
“One of the organized tribes forming the Athenian citizen body”
19th Century
English
phyle
“A learned English borrowing referring chiefly to an ancient Greek tribe or clan”
Modern English
English
phyle
“A tribe, clan, or comparable social grouping”