In New Zealand society, iwi () form the largest everyday social units in Māori populations. The word iwi means "people" or "folk"; in many contexts it might translate as "tribe" or as "clan", with the distinction that it may sometimes refer to a larger grouping of tribes. Anthropological research however, tends to indicate that most Māori in pre-European times gave their primary allegiance to relatively small groups such as whānau (extended families) or hapū (sub-tribes).