Definitions for Family
ˈfæm ə li, ˈfæm lifam·i·ly

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.0 / 4 votes

1. family, household, house, home, menagenoun

   a social unit living together

   "he moved his family to Virginia"; "It was a good Christian household"; "I waited until the whole house was asleep"; "the teacher asked how many people made up his home"

2. family, family unitnoun

   primary social group; parents and children

   "he wanted to have a good job before starting a family"

3. class, category, familynoun

   a collection of things sharing a common attribute

   "there are two classes of detergents"

4. family, family line, folk, kinfolk, kinsfolk, sept, phratrynoun

   people descended from a common ancestor

   "his family has lived in Massachusetts since the Mayflower"

5. kin, kinsperson, familynoun

   a person having kinship with another or others

   "he's kin"; "he's family"

6. familynoun

   (biology) a taxonomic group containing one or more genera

   "sharks belong to the fish family"

7. syndicate, crime syndicate, mob, familynoun

   a loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized criminal activities

8. family, fellowshipnoun

   an association of people who share common beliefs or activities

   "the message was addressed not just to employees but to every member of the company family"; "the church welcomed new members into its fellowship"

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.7 / 6 votes

1. familynoun

   A father, mother and their sons and daughters; also called nuclear family.

   Our family lives in town.

2. familynoun

   A group of people related by blood, marriage, law, or custom.

   crime family, Mafia family

3. familynoun

   A kin, tribe; also called extended family.

4. familynoun

   A rank in the classification of organisms, below order and above genus; a taxon at that rank.

   Magnolias belong to the family Magnoliaceae.

5. familynoun

   A group of people who live together, or one that is similar to one that is related by blood, marriage, law, or custom, or members of one's intimate social group.

6. familynoun

   Any group or aggregation of things classed together as kindred or related from possessing in common characteristics which distinguish them from other things of the same order.

7. familynoun

   A group of instrument having the same basic method of tone production.

8. familynoun

   A group of languages believed to have descended from the same ancestral language.

9. familyadjective

   Suitable for children and adults.

10. familyadjective

    Conservative, traditional.

    The cultural struggle is for the survival of family values against all manner of atheistic amorality.

11. familyadjective

    Homosexual.

    I knew he was family when I first met him.

12. Etymology: familia, from famula.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Familynoun

   Etymology: familia, Latin; famille, French.

   1. Those who live in the same house; household.

   The night made little impression on myself; but I cannot answer for my whole family; for my wife prevailed on me to take somewhat. Jonathan Swift.

   2. Those that descend from one common progenitor; a race; a tribe; a generation.3. A class; a tribe; a species.

   There be two great families of things, sulphureous and mercurial, inflammable and not inflammable, mature and crude, oily and watry. Francis Bacon, Natural History, №. 354.

WikipediaRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Family

   In the context of human society, a family (from Latin: familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth), affinity (by marriage or other relationship), or co-residence (as implied by the etymology of the English word "family") or some combination of these. The purpose of families is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideally, families would offer predictability, structure, and safety as members mature and participate in the community. In most societies, it is within families children acquire socialization for life outside the family. Additionally, as the basic unit for meeting the basic needs of its members, it provides a sense of boundaries for performing tasks in a heterosexual environment, ideally builds a person into a functional adult, transmits culture, and ensures continuity of humankind with precedents of knowledge. Anthropologists generally classify most family organizations as matrifocal (a mother and her children); conjugal (a wife, her husband, and children, also called the nuclear family); avuncular (for example, a grandparent, a brother, his sister, and her children); or extended (parents and children co-reside with other members of one parent's family). Members of the immediate family may include spouses, parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters. Members of the extended family may include aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces, and siblings-in-law. Sometimes these are also considered members of the immediate family, depending on an individual's specific relationship with them. Sexual relations among the members are regulated by rules concerning incest such as the incest taboo. The word "families" can be used metaphorically to create more inclusive categories such as community, nationhood, global village, and humanism. The field of genealogy aims to trace family lineages through history. The family is also an important economic unit studied in family economics.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. family

   A family is a group of individuals who are connected by blood, adoption, or marriage and live together in a household. Families typically share emotional bonds, provide support and care for one another, and may have legal or social responsibilities towards each other. They often form the basic unit of society and play a crucial role in raising and nurturing children, transmitting cultural values, and providing a sense of belonging and identity.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.7 / 3 votes

1. Familyverb

   the collective body of persons who live in one house, and under one head or manager; a household, including parents, children, and servants, and, as the case may be, lodgers or boarders

2. Familyverb

   the group comprising a husband and wife and their dependent children, constituting a fundamental unit in the organization of society

3. Familyverb

   those who descend from one common progenitor; a tribe, clan, or race; kindred; house; as, the human family; the family of Abraham; the father of a family

4. Familyverb

   course of descent; genealogy; line of ancestors; lineage

5. Familyverb

   honorable descent; noble or respectable stock; as, a man of family

6. Familyverb

   a group of kindred or closely related individuals; as, a family of languages; a family of States; the chlorine family

7. Familyverb

   a group of organisms, either animal or vegetable, related by certain points of resemblance in structure or development, more comprehensive than a genus, because it is usually based on fewer or less pronounced points of likeness. In zoology a family is less comprehesive than an order; in botany it is often considered the same thing as an order

8. Etymology: [L. familia, fr. famulus servant; akin to Oscan famel servant, cf. faamat he dwells, Skr. dhman house, fr. dhto set, make, do: cf. F. famille. Cf. Do, v. t., Doom, Fact, Feat.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Family

   In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children. Anthropologists most generally classify family organization as matrilocal; conjugal; and consanguineal in which parents and children co-reside with other members of one parent's family. There are also concepts of family that break with tradition within particular societies, or those that are transplanted via migration to flourish or else cease within their new societies. As a unit of socialization the family is the object of analysis for sociologists of the family. Genealogy is a field which aims to trace family lineages through history. In science, the term "family" has come to be used as a means to classify groups of objects as being closely and exclusively related. In the study of animals it has been found that many species form groups that have similarities to human "family"—often called "packs." Sexual relations among family members are regulated by rules concerning incest such as the incest taboo.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. Family

   fam′i-li, n. the household, or all those who live in one house under one head, including parents, children, servants: the children of a person: the descendants of one common progenitor: race: honourable or noble descent: a group of animals, plants, languages, &c. more comprehensive than a genus.—ns. Fam′ilism, the family feeling; Fam′ilist, one of the 16th-cent. mystical sect known as the Family of Love, which based religion upon love independently of faith.—Family Bible, a large Bible for family worship, with a page for recording family events; Family coach, a large carriage able to carry a whole family; Family man, a man with a family: a domesticated man.—Be in the family way, to be pregnant; In a family way, in a domestic manner. [L. familia—famulus, a servant.]

U.S. National Library of MedicineRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Family

   A social group consisting of parents or parent substitutes and children.

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon WurdzRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. FAMILY

   Originally a wife and several children, a matter of pride to the possessor. Now obsolete among the careful, or confined to the wife, a bull pup and a canary bird.

Editors ContributionRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. familynoun

   A group consisting of parents and children living together in a household. A group of people related to one another by blood or marriage . A group of objects united by a significant shared characteristic.

   My family is the bringers of light.

   Etymology: Clan

   
   

   Submitted by Tehorah_Elyon on May 5, 2024  

2. ---

   family

   A group of people who live at a house, dwelling or property as a group or unit.

   Family can take so many forms in 2020, what is important is that they act and feel like a family.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on February 16, 2020  

3. ---

   Family

   Family is a group of people by blood, adoption, marriage and friends

   Monogamy Polygamy etc

   
   

   Submitted by Lazolk on October 15, 2020  

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. family

   Song lyrics by family -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by family on the Lyrics.com website.

EntomologyRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Family

   a division of classification including a number of genera agreeing in one or a set of characters and so closely related that they are apparently descended from one stem: opinionative and indicated by the termination idae.

Matched Categories

1. • Association
   • Biology
   • Collection
   • Lineage
   • Organized Crime
   • Taxonomic Group

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Family' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #234

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Family' in Written Corpus Frequency: #511

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Family' in Nouns Frequency: #36

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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How to pronounce Family?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Family in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Family in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Family in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of Family in a Sentence

1. Emma Fiarweather:

   I got a call from a police family liaison officer, the message he passed on didn't even make sense. He said' Prince Philip would like to be remembered to you'.

2. Michael Slager:

   I would like to be with my family.

3. Amy DeLoughy:

   Leaving the property to nature would mean there is still a sense of darkness in our neighborhood, love and light that a new family would bring would help heal some of the very deep wounds we are still tending to.

4. Prince Andrew:

   It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family's work and the valuable work going on in the many organizations and charities that I am proud to support, therefore, I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission.

5. Felipe Ortega:

   My dad is his house, his work, his family and that’s it, that’s why it is all kind of shocking.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=Family
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Family
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=Family
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Family
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=Family
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=Family
9. ^ The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1989/pg1989-images.html#:~:text=Family
10. ^ Entomology
    https://www.gutenberg.org/files/22748/22748-h/22748-h.htm#:~:text=Family
11. ^ Usage in printed sources
    https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Family