Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A little tribe; a subordinate division or offset of a tribe.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A small tribe of
Native Americans (diminutive of tribe); specifically; small independent groups of NativeCalifornia people which shared alanguage and usually comprised of one principalvillage - larger groups possibly having several villages all in closeproximity .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Coined by anthropologist Alfred L. Kroeber to refer to many groups of Native Americans in Central California. The word stems from the word tribe, and suffix -let. It has been in use since at least 1925. Kroeber maintained he had identified over 500 tribelets in California. The term has been employed by many anthropologists since to denote California groups of native people.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word tribelet.
Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.