tribal

English

Etymology

From Latin tribālis. By surface analysis, tribe +‎ -al, first attested in the 1630s.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈtɹaɪbəl/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪbəl

Adjective

tribal (comparative more tribal, superlative most tribal)

1. Of or relating to tribes.

   social order through tribal law

2. Based on or organized according to tribes.

   a tribal society

Derived terms

• extratribal
• intertribal
• intratribal
• multitribal
• tribal chief
• tribalist
• tribalistic
• [[tribal tattoo

  tribalism#English|tribal tattoo

  tribalism]]

 

Translations

of or relating to tribes

• Arabic: قَبَلِيّ (qabaliyy)

  Hijazi Arabic: قَبَلي (gabali), قَبيلي (gabīli)

• Belarusian: племянны́ (pljemjanný)
• Bulgarian: пле́менен (bg) (plémenen)
• Catalan: tribal (ca)
• Esperanto: triba
• French: tribal (fr)
• Galician: tribal
• German: Stammes- (de)
• Greek: φυλετικός (el) (fyletikós)
• Hebrew: שִׁבְטִי (shivtí)
• Italian: tribale (it)
• Latin: gentilicius, tribālis
• Macedonian: племенски (plemenski)
• Portuguese: tribal (pt)
• Romanian: tribal (ro)
• Russian: племенно́й (ru) (plemennój)
• Serbo-Croatian: plȅmenskī (sh)
• Spanish: tribal (es)
• Swedish: stam-
• Ukrainian: племінни́й (pleminnýj)
• Volapük: tribütik

based on or organized according to tribes

• Catalan: tribal (ca)
• Galician: tribal
• Greek: φυλετικός (el) (fyletikós)
• Latin: tribālis
• Portuguese: tribal (pt)
• Romanian: tribal (ro)
• Russian: племенно́й (ru) (plemennój)
• Spanish: tribal (es)

Noun

tribal (plural tribals)

1. A design or image that has been influenced by indigenous peoples; especially such a tattoo.
2. (India) A member of a tribe.
   • 1983, Human Science: Journal of the Anthropological Survey of India, page 141:

     This right had been accepted by relative tribals but misobeyed and effaced by non-tribals and foreign peasants.

   • 2018, Vaijayanta Anand, Geeta Balakrishnan, Purnima George, Community Practices in India: Lessons from the Grassroots, page 66:

     […] the legendary Adivasi leader Jaipal Singh Munda who came to represent the tribals not just of his native plateau, but also of all of India […]

Derived terms

• tribal tattoo

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [tɾiˈβal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [tɾiˈbal]

Adjective

tribal m or f (masculine and feminine plural tribals)

1. (relational) tribe; tribal (of or pertaining to tribes)
2. tribal (based on or organized according to tribes)

Related terms

• tribu

Further reading

• “tribal” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “tribal”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “tribal” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “tribal” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Cebuano

Etymology

Similar vowel sounds of bright and tribe. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adjective

tribal

1. bright; having a clear, quick intellect; intelligent

French

Etymology

From tribu +‎ -al, possibly influenced by English tribal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʁi.bal/

Adjective

tribal (feminine tribale, masculine plural tribals or tribaux, feminine plural tribales)

1. tribal

Related terms

• tribalisme

Further reading

• “tribal”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Galician

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɾiˈbal/ [t̪ɾiˈβ̞ɑɫ]
• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: tri‧bal

Adjective

tribal m or f (plural tribais)

1. tribal (of or pertaining to tribes)
2. tribal (based on or organized according to tribes)

Related terms

• tribo

Further reading

• “tribal”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2024

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from French tribal or from tribo (“tribe”) +‎ -al (“of or relating to”).

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /tɾiˈbaw/ [tɾiˈbaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /tɾiˈbal/ [tɾiˈβaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /tɾiˈbal/ [tɾiˈβaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /tɾiˈba.li/ [tɾiˈβa.li]

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: tri‧bal

Adjective

tribal m or f (plural tribais)

1. tribal

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French tribal. Equivalent to trib +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /triˈbal/

Adjective

tribal m or n (feminine singular tribală, masculine plural tribali, feminine and neuter plural tribale)

1. tribal

Declension

Declension of tribal

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	tribal		tribală	tribali	tribale
	definite	tribalul		tribala	tribalii	tribalele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	tribal		tribale	tribali	tribale
	definite	tribalului		tribalei	tribalilor	tribalelor

Further reading

• tribal in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

Spanish

Alternative forms

• tribual

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɾiˈbal/ [t̪ɾiˈβ̞al]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: tri‧bal

Adjective

tribal m or f (masculine and feminine plural tribales)

1. tribal (of or relating to tribes)
2. tribal (based on or organized according to tribes)

Related terms

• tribu

 

Further reading

• “tribal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), 23rd edition, Royal Spanish Academy, 2014 October 16