The Origins of the Gaelic Clan

The word clan is most closely associated with Scotland, but the word itself can be traced back to the Gaelic language of Ireland. The Gaelic speakers in Ireland actually borrowed the word clan from Latin. Within those early Irish dialects, there was no P sound. So very often, a different sound was substituted for that P sound,. And that's how Latin planta became Gaelic clan. Many of the Englishmen who applied that concept in Ireland also applied the same concept in North America.