Families - Definitions from Dictionary.com

3 results for: Families

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

fam·i·ly

Audio Help [fam-uh-lee, fam-lee] Pronunciation Key noun, plural -lies, adjective

–noun

1.	parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not.

2.	the children of one person or one couple collectively: We want a large family.

3.	the spouse and children of one person: We're taking the family on vacation next week.

4.	any group of persons closely related by blood, as parents, children, uncles, aunts, and cousins: to marry into a socially prominent family.

5.	all those persons considered as descendants of a common progenitor.

6.	Chiefly British. approved lineage, esp. noble, titled, famous, or wealthy ancestry: young men of family.

7.	a group of persons who form a household under one head, including parents, children, and servants.

8.	the staff, or body of assistants, of an official: the office family.

9.	a group of related things or people: the family of romantic poets; the halogen family of elements.

10.	a group of people who are generally not blood relations but who share common attitudes, interests, or goals and, frequently, live together: Many hippie communes of the sixties regarded themselves as families.

11.	a group of products or product models made by the same manufacturer or producer.

12.	Biology. the usual major subdivision of an order or suborder in the classification of plants, animals, fungi, etc., usually consisting of several genera.

13.	Slang. a unit of the Mafia or Cosa Nostra operating in one area under a local leader.

14.	Linguistics. the largest category into which languages related by common origin can be classified with certainty: Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan, and Austronesian are the most widely spoken families of languages. Compare stock (def. 12), subfamily (def. 2).

15.

Mathematics.

a.	a given class of solutions of the same basic equation, differing from one another only by the different values assigned to the constants in the equation.

b.	a class of functions or the like defined by an expression containing a parameter.

a set.

–adjective

16.	of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a family: a family trait.

17.	belonging to or used by a family: a family automobile; a family room.

18.	suitable or appropriate for adults and children: a family amusement park.

19.	not containing obscene language: a family newspaper.

—Idiom

20.	in a or the family way, pregnant.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME familie < L familia a household, the slaves of a household, equiv. to famul(us) servant, slave + -ia -y³

]

—Usage note See collective noun.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Families

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

fam·i·ly Audio Help (fām'ə-lē, fām'lē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. fam·i·lies

1. A fundamental social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children.
2. Two or more people who share goals and values, have long-term commitments to one another, and reside usually in the same dwelling place.
3. A group of like things; a class.
4. A group of individuals derived from a common stock: the family of human beings.
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.
1. A group of like things; a class.
2. 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.

adj.

Of or having to do with a family: family problems.
Being suitable for a family: family movies.

[Middle English familie, from Latin familia, household, servants of a household, from famulus, servant.]

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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

family Audio Help (fām'ə-lē) Pronunciation Key
A group of organisms ranking above a genus and below an order. The names of families end in -ae, a plural ending in Latin. In the animal kingdom, family names end in -idae, as in Canidae (dogs and their kin), while those in the plant kingdom usually end in -aceae, as in Rosaceae (roses and their kin). See Table at taxonomy.

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