family Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a social unit living together
    house; household; menage; home.
    • 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. noun primary social group; parents and children
    family unit.
    • he wanted to have a good job before starting a family
  3. noun a collection of things sharing a common attribute
    category; class.
    • there are two classes of detergents
  4. noun people descended from a common ancestor
    kinfolk; family line; phratry; kinsfolk; sept; folk.
    • his family has lived in Massachusetts since the Mayflower
  5. noun a person having kinship with another or others
    kinsperson; kin.
    • he's kin
    • he's family
  6. noun (biology) a taxonomic group containing one or more genera
    • sharks belong to the fish family
  7. noun a loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized criminal activities
    mob; crime syndicate; syndicate.
  8. noun an association of people who share common beliefs or activities
    fellowship.
    • the message was addressed not just to employees but to every member of the company family
    • the church welcomed new members into its fellowship

WordNet

Fam"i*ly noun
Etymology
L. familia, fr. famulus servant; akin to Oscan famel servant, cf. faamat he dwells, Skr. dhaman house, fr. dhato set, make, do: cf. F. famille. Cf. Do, v. t., Doom, Fact, Feat.
Wordforms
plural Families
Definitions
  1. 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. The group comprising a husband and wife and their dependent children, constituting a fundamental unit in the organization of society.
    The welfare of the family underlies the welfare of society. H. Spencer.
  3. 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.
    Go ! and pretennd your family is young. Pope.
  4. Course of descent; genealogy; line of ancestors; lineage.
  5. Honorable descent; noble or respectable stock; as, a man of family.
  6. A groupe of kindred or closely related individuals; as, a family of languages; a family of States; the chlorine family.
  7. (Biol.) A groupe 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 zoölogy a family is less comprehesive than an order; in botany it is often considered the same thing as an order.

Webster 1913