/ klæn; NAmE / noun [ C +sing./pl. v . ]
1.
a group of families who are related to each other, especially in Scotland :
the Macleod clan
clan warfare
2.
( informal , sometimes humorous ) a very large family, or a group of people who are connected because of a particular thing :
one of a growing clan of stars who have left Hollywood
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Scottish Gaelic clann offspring, family, from Old Irish cland , from Latin planta sprout.