Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
clanless

clanless

6.9
Not part of a clan or family group
  • adjective
  • /ˈklæn.ləs/
translation icon : sin clan
  • Many people in the city felt clanless, lacking the community bonds that others enjoyed.

Examples

  • The clanless individuals often found themselves searching for a place to belong.

  • This is the man of whom Aristotle, quoting Homer, said that he was "clanless, and hearthless, and lawless."

    Academic text (1999)

  • I am clanless.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • I'm clanless.

    Speak (2004)

  • In a society where everyone belongs to a group, being clanless can feel isolating.

Synonyms

nontribal
vsclanless
6.1

Not related to or part of a tribe

is about absence from any kin-based or close family group
nonaffiliated
vsclanless
5.9

Not connected to any group, organization, or political party

focuses on lacking kin or ancestry ties rather than formal membership

Surface Forms

clanless positive

Morphology

clanless = clan (transparent) = clan + less

Meaning is directly 'without a clan' formed by the productive suffix '-less', so a learner who knows 'clan' and '-less' can infer the meaning.

Etymology

The word clanless comes from clan, an old Gaelic word for 'family' or 'children', and the ending -less, which means 'without'. So, clanless means 'without a clan' or not part of a family group.