How the three founding groups of Rome gave us tribes, tribunes, tribunals, tributes and even distribute. Tap ▶ to hear each step read aloud.
Most scholars think Latin tribus was built on tri-, three, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes (English three, French trois). The second part may come from *bʰuH-, to be, to grow.
Another, less common idea links it to a root meaning to divide.
The Romans said that their city began with three groups of people, the Ramnes, the Tities and the Luceres. Each one was a tribus.
Later Rome had 35 tribes. They were no longer families but voting districts and units for the army and taxes.
The leader of a tribe was a tribunus, a tribune. He sat on a raised platform to judge, the tribunal: today a tribunal is a court, and a tribune is a platform or a newspaper, like the Chicago Tribune.
From tribus came the Latin verb tribuere: to share out among the tribes, to give, to pay.
English took the word in the 1200s, first for the Twelve Tribes of Israel, the twelve families descended from the sons of Jacob in the Bible.
Later, tribe was used for any people who share families, a land and customs.
Today we also use it for any group that feels close: my tribe
, a tribe of football fans
, and tribal or tribalism for “us against them”.
| tribune, tribunal | the tribe’s leader, and the platform where he judged |
| tribute | a payment; praise |
| distribute, contribute, attribute | share out, give your share, give to someone |
| tribal, tribalism | of a tribe; “us against them” |
French has the whole family: tribu, tribun, tribunal, tribune, tribut, distribuer, contribuer, attribuer.
“Rome began with three tribes, and they shared everything out.”