subfamily

(subfam′ə lē, -fam′lē)

noun pl. subfamilies

  1. any main natural subdivision of a family of plants or animals
  2. a major division of a language family, above a branch: the Balto-Slavic subfamily of Indo-European languages

See subfamily in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun pl. sub·fam·i·lies
  1. Biology A taxonomic category of related organisms ranking between a family and a genus.
  2. Linguistics A division of languages below a family and above a branch.

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