Clan septs

[PeterSandy]

Why is it no longer advisable to use the word 'sept' in relation to the Scottish clans? What is the correct word to use in its place?

[Duthill]

When was that decided , and who made the decision ?

[Lachlan09]

Originally Posted by PeterSandy

Why is it no longer advisable to use the word 'sept' in relation to the Scottish clans? What is the correct word to use in its place?

The new term is "posse", reflecting an up-to-the-minute sensibilities.

[Duthill]

How was the fishing Wullie ?

[Auld Chiel]

I think the term "sept" was co-opted back in the 19th century from Irish genealogy. Not long after people developed the notion that certain Scottish names or clans had their own particular tartan patterns (because there were military tartan patterns that bore the names of regiments named after their founders, i.e. Gordon Highlanders, Fraser Highlanders, etc.), tartan merchants hit upon the idea that they could sell people tartans even if wasn't a specific tartan designed for for their surname. So if a Mr. Watts came into a shop that sold tartan looking for a scarf or necktie, the shopkeeper wouldn't let him leave empty handed and would quickly launch into some diatribe about how the Watts family was a "sept" of the Buchannans because the name Watts was a contracted form of Watson, and meant "son of Watt", Watt being a nickname for Walter, and the Buchanan clan was of course founded by an ancient progenitor named Walter, so Watts became a "sept" of the Buchannans, and and Mr. Watts gets sold a necktie of Buchanan tartan.

[Duthill]

None of which has anything to do with addressing the question .
Just another pointless post from Old Drivel.

[Auld Chiel]

Originally Posted by Duthill

None of which has anything to do with addressing the question .
Just another pointless post from Old Drivel.

I could have just said "because the concept of septs is bogus" but then he might want to know why.