A sept is an English word for a division of a family, especially a division of a clan, probably an altered form of sect. The term is found in both Ireland and Scotland. It is sometimes used to translate the word sliocht, meaning seed, indicating the descendants of a person (i.e., Sliocht Brian Mac Diarmata, the descendants of Brian Mac Dermot). It became Anglicized as Sil.
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Related septs
Sil was used within the context of a family or clan, all who bore the same surname, as a manner of distinguishing one group from another. For example: a family called Mac In Bard (Anglicized as Ward) might be divided into septs such as Sil Sean mac Brian, Sil Conchobhar Og, Sil Sen Conn, Sil Cu Connacht. All of these individual lines might further sub-divide into still more septs, which in turn sometimes led to a new surname, and/or the emergence of the family concerned as a clan in their own right. This type of sept was normal in Scotland.
Scottish septs
In Scotland, a sept is often a family that is absorbed into a larger Scottish clan for mutual benefit. For example, the Burns family sept was absorbed into the Clan Campbell. The Burns family, being very small and of questionable heritage, gained legitimacy and protection; the Campbell clan absorbed a potential rival for British affection in Scotland. Each Scottish clan typically has a number of septs, each with its own surname. Septs have rights to wear clan tartans although they often have tartans of their own. Related septs (see above) were also normal in Scotland.
Irish septs
In Ireland, the word sept is used to refer to a group of people with a common surname and found within a specific locality, suggesting a probable common origin. In recent times, Irish septs are sometimes called clans, although Ireland does not have a clan system similar to that of Scotland. Consider the effect of Cromwell's campaign in Ireland and resulting exile of native Irish "to Hell or Connacht." Related Irish septs belong to larger groups, sometimes called tribes, such as the Dál gCais, Uí Néill, Uí Fiachrach, and Uí Maine.
