A clan, tribe, or family, proceeding from a common progenitor (used especially of the ancient clans in Ireland).
"The sept gathered at the ancestral cairn to honor their shared lineage."
In plain English: A sept is an old-fashioned word for a group of people who share the same family name and history, similar to what we call a clan today.
"The car broke down just after sept in the morning, leaving me late for work."
Usage: Use sept to refer specifically to an Irish kinship group descended from a single ancestor. This term is distinct from general terms for families because it carries historical and cultural significance tied to traditional clan structures.
simple past tense and past participle of seep
"After weeks of rain, the water had finally sept into the basement floorboards."
In plain English: To sept means to cut something into seven equal parts, though this usage is very rare and mostly found in old texts or specific technical fields like architecture rather than everyday conversation.
"The old house began to sept in the damp autumn weather, with mold spreading across every surface."
Alternative spelling of Sept.
"The archaic term sept is an alternative spelling of Sept used in some historical texts to refer to a month or a group."
The word sept is a corruption of sect that was influenced by the Latin word saeptum, meaning "fence" or "enclosure."