Nearby Words
Download Audio Books www.audible.com Buy this Title Online Today & Download Instantly for just $7.49!
Dictionary.com Free Toolbar Dictionary.com Define In the family way Instantly. Faster Page Loads With Fewer Ads.
Ads
noun
1.
a.
a basic social unit consisting of parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not: the traditional family.
b.
a social unit consisting of one or more adults together with the children they care for: a single-parent family.
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.
EXPANDall those persons considered as descendants of a common progenitor.
6.
Chiefly British. approved lineage, especially 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.
15.
COLLAPSEMathematics.
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.
c.
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.
:10
:09
:08
:07
:06
:05
:04
:03
:02
:01
In the family way
is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
20.
in a/the family way, pregnant.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English familie < Latin familia a household, the slaves of a household, equivalent to famul(us) servant, slave + -ia -y3
1350–1400; Middle English familie < Latin familia a household, the slaves of a household, equivalent to famul(us) servant, slave + -ia -y3
Related forms
an·ti·fam·i·ly, adjective
in·ter·fam·i·ly, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
|
Link To in the family way
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
family
c.1400, "servants of a household," from L. familia "household," including relatives and servants, from famulus "servant," of unknown origin. The classical L. sense recorded in Eng. from 1545; the main modern sense of "those connected by blood" (whether living together or not) is first attested 1667.
EXPAND Replaced O.E. hiwscipe. Buzzword family values first recorded 1966. Phrase in a family way "pregnant" is from 1796. Family circle is 1809; family man, one devoted to wife and children, is 1856 (earlier it meant "thief," 1788, from family in slang sense of "the fraternity of thieves").
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
family fam·i·ly (fām'ə-lē, fām'lē)
n.
A group of blood relatives, especially parents and their children.
A taxonomic category of related organisms ranking below an order and above a genus.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
family  (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. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
family definition
In biology, the classification lower than an order and higher than a genus. Lions, tigers, cheetahs, and house cats belong to the same biological family. Human beings belong to the biological family of hominids. (See Linnean classification.)
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
in a family way definitionand in the family way
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
in the family way
Pregnant, as in Mary's in the family way again. This euphemistic expression dates from the late 1700s and may be dying out.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.