subfamily

[suhb-fam-uh-lee, -fam-lee, suhb-fam-uh-lee, -fam-lee]

sub·fam·i·ly

[suhb-fam-uh-lee, -fam-lee, suhb-fam-uh-lee, -fam-lee]
noun, plural sub·fam·i·lies.
1.
Biology. a category of related genera within a family.
2.
Linguistics. (in the classification of related languages within a family) a category of a higher order than a branch. Compare branch (def. 8), family (def. 14).

Origin:
1825–35; sub- + family
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Subfamily is always a great word to know.
So is gamete. Does it mean:
a mature sexual reproductive cell, such as a sperm or egg, that unites with another cell to form a new organism
occurring across a membrane, as an electric potential or the transport of ions or gases
Collins
World English Dictionary
subfamily (ˈsʌbˌfæmɪlɪ)
 
n , pl -lies
1.  biology a taxonomic group that is a subdivision of a family
2.  any analogous subdivision, as of a family of languages

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

subfamily sub·fam·i·ly (sŭb'fām'ə-lē)
n.
A taxonomic category ranking between a family and 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
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
subfamily   (sŭb'fām'ə-lē)  Pronunciation Key 
A subdivision of a family of organisms, containing one or more genera. The names of subfamilies in the animal kingdom typically end in -inae, as in Cerambycinae, a subfamily of the longhorn beetle family Cerambycidae.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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