Family Definition
fămə-lē, fămlē
families
noun
families
All the people living in the same house; household.
Webster's New World
A social unit consisting of parents and the children they rear.
Webster's New World
One's spouse and children.
Webster's New World
The children of the same parents.
Webster's New World
A group of people related by ancestry or marriage; relatives.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
adjective
Of or for a family.
A family picnic, the family car.
Webster's New World
Characteristic of or suitable for a family, esp. one regarded as traditional or typical; wholesome, middle-class, etc.
Family entertainment.
Webster's New World
Being suitable for a family.
Family movies.
American Heritage
Conservative, traditional.
The cultural struggle is for the survival of family values against all manner of atheistic amorality.
Wiktionary
(slang) Homosexual.
I knew he was family when I first met him.
Wiktionary
idiom
in the family way
- Pregnant.
American Heritage
in a family way
- pregnant; with child
Webster's New World
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Family
- in the family way
- in a family way
Origin of Family
-
From Early Modern English familie (not in Middle English), from Latin familia (“the servants in a household, domestics collectively”), from famulus (“servant”)/famula (“female servant”), from Old Latin famul, of obscure origin. Perhaps derived from or cognate to Oscan famel (“servant”).
From Wiktionary
Middle English familie from Latin familia household, servants of a household from famulus servant
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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