family

¹fam·i·ly

noun \ˈfam-lē, ˈfa-mə-\

plural fam·i·lies

Definition of FAMILY

1

: a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head : household

2

a : a group of persons of common ancestry : clan

b : a people or group of peoples regarded as deriving from a common stock : race

3

a : a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation : fellowship

b : the staff of a high official (as the President)

4

: a group of things related by common characteristics: as

a : a closely related series of elements or chemical compounds

b : a group of soils with similar chemical and physical properties (as texture, pH, and mineral content) that comprise a category ranking above the series and below the subgroup in soil classification

c : a group of related languages descended from a single ancestral language

5

a : the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children; also : any of various social units differing from but regarded as equivalent to the traditional family <a single-parent family>

b : spouse and children <want to spend more time with my family>

6

a : a group of related plants or animals forming a category ranking above a genus and below an order and usually comprising several to many genera

b in livestock breeding (1) : the descendants or line of a particular individual especially of some outstanding female (2) : an identifiable strain within a breed

7

: a set of curves or surfaces whose equations differ only in parameters

8

: a unit of a crime syndicate (as the Mafia) operating within a geographical area

— fam·i·ly·hood \-ˌhu̇d\ noun

Examples of FAMILY

1. There were a lot of families at the circus.
2. The show is fun for the whole family.
3. a death in the family
4. There are several doctors on his mother's side of the family.
5. She wants to spend more time with her family.
6. After his father's death he became the head of the family.
7. She's a friend of the family.
8. He spent a quiet evening at home with family.
9. trying to find a balance between work and family
10. He's devoted to his wife and family.
11. The disappearance of decent-paying low-skilled jobs over the last 30 years makes it virtually impossible for a young high-school dropout to successfully support a family on a legitimate income. —Karen De Witt, Essence, August 1994
12. A defendant in a racketeering trial was described yesterday as a Mafia captain who had carried out a plot to kill three rivals in the Bonanno crime family. —Arnold H. Lubasch, New York Times, 30 Apr. 1987
13. Nobody ever came to the farm—through “the big gate,” a mile off on the pike—except kin and a family named Rawls: a widow with two daughters and a son, my only playmate. —Robert Penn Warren, Jefferson Davis Gets His Citizenship Back, 1980
14. It was quite an understood thing in the family that Lord Fawn must marry money. —Anthony Trollope, The Eustace Diamonds, 1871

Origin of FAMILY

Middle English familie, from Latin familia household (including servants as well as kin of the householder), from famulus servant

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to FAMILY

Synonyms

blood, clan, folks, house, kin, kindred, kinfolk (or kinfolks), kinsfolk, line, lineage, people, race, stock, tribe

Related Words

blended family, nuclear family; extended family, household, kith; brood; descendant (also descendent), issue, offspring, progeny, scion, seed; clansman, kinsman, kinswoman, relative; dynasty

Near Antonyms

ancestry, birth, descent, extraction, origin, pedigree

Other Sociology Terms

bourgeois, ethos, eugenics, exurb, incommunicado, intelligentsia, megalopolis, metrosexual, mores, subculture

²fam·i·ly

adjective \ˈfam-lē, ˈfa-mə-\

Definition of FAMILY

1

: of or relating to a family (see ¹family)

2

: designed or suitable for both children and adults <family restaurants> <family movies>

Origin of FAMILY

(see ¹family)

First Known Use: 1602

fam·i·ly

noun \ˈfam-(ə-)lē\   (Medical Dictionary)

plural ; fam·i·lies

Medical Definition of FAMILY

1

: the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children; also : any of various social units differing from but regarded as equivalent to the traditional family <a single-parent family>

2

: a group of related plants or animals forming a category ranking above a genus and below an order and usually comprising several to many genera

—family adjective