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family

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Family is defined as a specific group of people that may be made up of partners, children, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents.

(noun)

An example of a family is a set of parents living with their children.

The definition of family is the group of people who share common ancestors.

(noun)

An example of family is all the descendants of a specific person.

Family means a group of things that are similar.

(noun)

An example of a family the group of languages that are considered romance languages.

See family in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun pl. families

Obsolete all the people living in the same house; household
1. a social unit consisting of parents and the children they rear
2. the children of the same parents
3. one's husband (or wife) and children
a group of people related by ancestry or marriage; relatives
all those claiming descent from a common ancestor; tribe or clan; lineage
a criminal syndicate under a single leader: a Mafia family
a commune (sense ) living in one household, esp. under one head
a group of things having a common source or similar features; specif.,
1. Biol. a major category in the classification of animals, plants, etc., ranking above a genus and below an order: it can include one genus or many similar genera: the Latinized family names are capitalized but not italicized (Ex.: Felidae, cats)
2. Chem. a group of chemical elements having similar properties, forming one of the vertical columns of the periodic table
3. Ecol. a community composed of organisms of the same species
4. Linguis. a parent language and all the languages and dialects descended from it
5. Math. a set of curves, functions, or other entities with some shared property

Origin: ME familie < L familia, household establishment, akin to famulus, servant < ? IE *dhe-mo-, house (< base *dhē-: see do) > Sans dhāman, household

adjective

of or for a family: a family picnic, the family car
characteristic of or suitable for a family, esp. one regarded as traditional or typical; wholesome, middle-class, etc.: family entertainment, family values

See family in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun pl. fam·i·lies

a. A fundamental social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children.
b. Two or more people who share goals and values, have long-term commitments to one another, and reside usually in the same dwelling place.
All the members of a household under one roof.
A group of persons sharing common ancestry. See Usage Note at collective noun.
Lineage, especially distinguished lineage.
A locally independent organized crime unit, as of the Cosa Nostra.
a. A group of like things; a class.
b. A group of individuals derived from a common stock: the family of human beings.
Biology A taxonomic category of related organisms ranking below an order and above a genus. A family usually consists of several genera. See Table at taxonomy.
Linguistics A group of languages descended from the same parent language, such as the Indo-European language family.
Mathematics A set of functions or surfaces that can be generated by varying the parameters of a general equation.
Chemistry A group of elements with similar chemical properties.
Chemistry A vertical column in the periodic table of elements.