Etymologically
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tribal

Etymology and origin of the English word tribal

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1632
Ultimate origin
English (tribe)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈtɹaɪbəl/[1]

Etymology

It is from tribe with the suffix -al.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or characteristic of a tribe or tribes: 1632, the 1630s in Etymonline.[4][2][5]

Semantic evolution

Tribally is from 1890.[4] Tribal council is from 1948.[4] The sense, characterized by strong loyalty to one's group, is from 1951, in Hannah Arendt.[2][4] As a noun, a member of a tribal community, it is chiefly Indian English from 1958.[4]

Timeline

  • 1632 – of a tribe.[4]
  • 1890 – tribally.[4]
  • 1951 – group loyalty.[4]
  • 1958 – a tribal person (noun).[4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Of, relating to or characteristic of a tribe.
  2. Showing strong loyalty to one's own group.

Noun

  1. (chiefly Indian English) A member of a tribal community.

Word family

  • tribally
  • nontribal
  • pretribal
  • subtribal
  • untribal
  • tribalism
  • intertribal

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
Cite this entry

“Tribal.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/tribal. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·