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¹family

noun fam·i·ly \ˈfam-lē, ˈfa-mə-\

: a group of people who are related to each other

: a person's children

: a group of related people including people who lived in the past

plural fam·i·lies

Full Definition of FAMILY

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

a : a group of persons of common ancestry : clan

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

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

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

: 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

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>

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

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

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

— fam·i·ly·hood \-ˌhu̇d\ noun

See family defined for English-language learners

See family defined for kids

Examples of FAMILY

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
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
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
It was quite an understood thing in the family that Lord Fawn must marry money. —Anthony Trollope, The Eustace Diamonds, 1871
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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

Other Sociology Terms

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

²family

adjective fam·i·ly \ˈfam-lē, ˈfa-mə-\

: of or relating to a family

: designed or suitable for both children and adults

Full Definition of FAMILY

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

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

See family defined for English-language learners

Origin of FAMILY

(see ¹family)

First Known Use: 1602

FAMILY Defined for Kids

family

noun fam·i·ly \ˈfa-mə-lē, ˈfam-lē\

plural fam·i·lies

Definition of FAMILY for Kids

: a social group made up of parents and their children

: a group of people who come from the same ancestor <You resemble your mother's side of the family.>

: a group of people living together : household

: a group of things sharing certain characteristics <a family of languages>

: a group of related living things (as plants or animals) that ranks above the genus and below the order in scientific classification <Domestic cats, lions, and tigers are some of the members of the cat family.>

Medical Dictionary

family

noun fam·i·ly \ˈfam-(ə-)lē\

plural fam·i·lies

Medical Definition of FAMILY

: 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>

: 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