'Family' definitions:
Definition of 'family'
From: WordNet
noun
A social unit living together; "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" [syn: family, household, house, home, menage]
noun
Primary social group; parents and children; "he wanted to have a good job before starting a family" [syn: family, family unit]
noun
A collection of things sharing a common attribute; "there are two classes of detergents" [syn: class, category, family]
noun
People descended from a common ancestor; "his family has lived in Massachusetts since the Mayflower" [syn: family, family line, folk, kinfolk, kinsfolk, sept, phratry]
noun
A person having kinship with another or others; "he's kin"; "he's family" [syn: kin, kinsperson, family]
noun
(biology) a taxonomic group containing one or more genera; "sharks belong to the fish family"
noun
A loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized criminal activities [syn: syndicate, crime syndicate, mob, family]
noun
An association of people who share common beliefs or activities; "the message was addressed not just to employees but to every member of the company family"; "the church welcomed new members into its fellowship" [syn: family, fellowship]
Definition of 'Family'
From: GCIDE
- Family \Fam"i*ly\, n.; pl. Families. [L. familia, fr. famulus servant; akin to Oscan famel servant, cf. faamat he dwells, Skr. dh[=a]man house, fr. dh[=a]to set, make, do: cf. F. famille. Cf. Do, v. t., Doom, Fact, Feat.]
- 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. [1913 Webster]
- 2. The group comprising a husband and wife and their dependent children, constituting a fundamental unit in the organization of society. [1913 Webster]
- The welfare of the family underlies the welfare of society. --H. Spencer. [1913 Webster]
- 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. [1913 Webster]
- Go ! and pretend your family is young. --Pope. [1913 Webster]
- 4. Course of descent; genealogy; line of ancestors; lineage. [1913 Webster]
- 5. Honorable descent; noble or respectable stock; as, a man of family. [1913 Webster]
- 6. A group of kindred or closely related individuals; as, a family of languages; a family of States; the chlorine family. [1913 Webster]
- 7. (Biol.) A group 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 Zoology a family is less comprehesive than an order; in botany it is often considered the same thing as an order. [1913 Webster]
- Family circle. See under Circle.
- Family man. (a) A man who has a family; esp., one who has a wife and children living with him and dependent upon him. (b) A man of domestic habits. "The Jews are generally, when married, most exemplary family men." --Mayhew.
- Family of curves or Family of surfaces (Geom.), a group of curves or surfaces derived from a single equation.
- In a family way, like one belonging to the family. "Why don't we ask him and his ladies to come over in a family way, and dine with some other plain country gentlefolks?" --Thackeray.
- In the family way, pregnant. [Colloq. euphemism] [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'family'
From: GCIDE
- natural family \nat"u*ral fam"i*ly\, n. (Biol.) a group of living organisms classed as a family in a toxonomic classification. [PJC]
Synonyms of 'family'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- affiliation,
- agnate,
- ancestors,
- ancestry,
- animal kingdom,
- antonomasia,
- apparentation,
- ashram,
- binomial nomenclature,
- biosystematics,
- biosystematy,
- biotype,
- birth,
- blood,
- blood relation,
- blood relative,
- bloodline,
- body,
- branch,
- breed,
- brood,
- caste,
- children,
- clan,
- clannish,
- clansman,
- class,
- classification,
- cognate,
- collateral,
- collateral relative,
- colony,
- common ancestry,
- commonwealth,
- commune,
- community,
- connections,
- consanguinean,
- consanguinity,
- deme,
- derivation,
- descendants,
- descent,
- diphyletic,
- direct,
- direct line,
- distaff side,
- distant relation,
- division,
- dynasty,
- economic class,
- enate,
- endogamous group,
- ethnic,
- extended family,
- extraction,
- family tree,
- female line,
- filiation,
- flesh,
- flesh and blood,
- folk,
- folks,
- forebears,
- forefathers,
- fruit,
- genealogical,
- genealogy,
- genetic,
- genotype,
- genre,
- gens,
- gentile,
- gentilic,
- genus,
- german,
- get,
- glossology,
- grandchildren,
- great-grandchildren,
- group,
- hearth,
- heirs,
- home,
- homefolks,
- hostages to fortune,
- house,
- household,
- inheritors,
- issue,
- kids,
- kin,
- kind,
- kindred,
- kinfolk,
- kingdom,
- kinnery,
- kinsfolk,
- kinship group,
- kinsman,
- kinsmen,
- kinswoman,
- kith and kin,
- line,
- line of descent,
- lineage,
- lineal,
- little ones,
- male line,
- matriclan,
- menage,
- moiety,
- nation,
- national,
- near relation,
- new generation,
- next of kin,
- nomenclature,
- nuclear family,
- offspring,
- onomastics,
- onomatology,
- order,
- orismology,
- parentage,
- patriclan,
- pedigree,
- people,
- phratria,
- phratry,
- phyle,
- phyletic,
- phylogenetic,
- phylum,
- place-names,
- place-naming,
- plant kingdom,
- polyonymy,
- posterity,
- progenitors,
- progeny,
- race,
- racial,
- relations,
- relatives,
- rising generation,
- section,
- seed,
- sept,
- series,
- set,
- settlement,
- sib,
- sibling,
- side,
- social class,
- society,
- sons,
- spear kin,
- spear side,
- species,
- spindle kin,
- spindle side,
- stem,
- stirp,
- stirps,
- stock,
- strain,
- subcaste,
- subclass,
- subdivision,
- subfamily,
- subgenus,
- subkingdom,
- suborder,
- subspecies,
- subtribe,
- succession,
- superclass,
- superfamily,
- superorder,
- superspecies,
- sword side,
- systematics,
- taxonomy,
- terminology,
- toponymy,
- totem,
- totemic,
- treasures,
- tribal,
- tribe,
- tribesman,
- trinomialism,
- type,
- uterine kin,
- variety,
- younglings,
- youngsters
Words containing 'Family'
- Families,
- familial,
- Chlorine family,
- Family circle,
- Family man,
- Family of curves,
- Family of surfaces,
- Happy family,
- Holy family,
- In a family way,
- In the family way,
- Pear family,
- Rose family,
- acanthus family,
- agave family,
- aloe family,
- amaranth family,
- amaryllis family,
- amphibian family,
- araucaria family,
- arrowroot family,
- arthropod family,
- arum family,
- aster family,
- bacteria family,
- balsam family,
- banana family,
- barberry family,
- beech family,
- begonia family,
- bellflower family,
- birch family,
- bird family,
- birthwort family,
- bladdernut family,
- bladderwort family,
- bloodwort family,
- borage family,
- box family,
- brass family,
- broomrape family,
- buckbean family,
- buckthorn family,
- buckwheat family,
- buttercup family,
- cactus family,
- calycanthus family,
- canella family,
- caper family,
- carnation family,
- carpetweed family,
- carrot family,
- cattail family,
- chordate family,
- clubmoss family,
- coelenterate family,
- combretum family,
- conjugal family,
- corkwood family,
- crowberry family,
- crowfoot family,
- ctenophore family,
- cunonia family,
- cycad family,
- cypress family,
- cyrilla family,
- daphne family,
- diapensia family,
- dicot family,
- dogbane family,
- dogwood family,
- duckweed family,
- ebony family,
- echinoderm family,
- eelgrass family,
- elaeocarpus family,
- elm family,
- epacris family,
- extended family,
- familial hypercholesterolemia,
- family acanthaceae,
- family acanthisittidae,
- family acanthuridae,
- family acaridae,
- family accipitridae,
- family aceraceae,
- family acipenseridae,
- family acrididae,
- family actinidiaceae,
- family actinomycetaceae,
- family adelgidae,
- family adiantaceae,
- family aegypiidae,
- family aepyornidae,
- family agamidae,
- family agaricaceae,
- family agavaceae,
- family agonidae,
- family ailuropodidae,
- family aizoaceae,
- family akeridae,
- family alaudidae,
- family albuginaceae,
- family albulidae,
- family alcedinidae,
- family alcidae,
- family aleyrodidae,
- family alismataceae,
- family alliaceae,
- family alligatoridae,
- family allioniaceae,
- family aloeaceae,
- family alopiidae,
- family alstroemeriaceae,
- family amaranthaceae,
- family amaryllidaceae,
- family ambrosiaceae,
- family ambystomatidae,
- family ameiuridae,
- family amiidae,
- family ammodytidae,
- family amphioxidae,
- family amphisbaenidae,
- family amphiumidae,
- family amygdalaceae,
- family anabantidae,
- family anacardiaceae,
- family anarhichadidae,
- family anatidae,
- family ancylidae,
- family ancylostomatidae,
- family andrenidae,
- family anguidae,
- family anguillidae,
- family anhimidae,
- family anhingidae,
- family anniellidae,
- family annonaceae,
- family anobiidae,
- family anomalopidae,
- family anomiidae,
- family antedonidae,
- family antennariidae,
- family anthocerotaceae,
- family antilocapridae,
- family aphididae,
- family aphyllanthaceae,
- family apiaceae,
- family apidae,
- family aplodontiidae,
- family aplysiidae,
- family apocynaceae,
- family apodidae,
- family apogonidae,
- family apterygidae,
- family aquifoliaceae,
- family araceae,
- family araliaceae,
- family araucariaceae,
- family arcellidae,
- family arcidae,
- family arctiidae,
- family ardeidae,
- family arecaceae,
- family argasidae,
- family argentinidae,
- family argiopidae,
- family argonautidae,
- family ariidae,
- family aristolochiaceae,
- family armadillidiidae,
- family artamidae,
- family ascaphidae,
- family ascaridae,
- family asclepiadaceae,
- family asilidae,
- family asparagaceae,
- family aspergillaceae,
- family asphodelaceae,
- family aspleniaceae,
- family astacidae,
- family asteraceae,
- family atherinidae,
- family athiorhodaceae,
- family athyriaceae,
- family atrichornithidae,
- family atropidae,
- family aulostomidae,
- family auriculariaceae,
- family avicenniaceae,
- family azollaceae,
- family babesiidae,
- family bacillaceae,
- family bacteroidaceae,
- family balaenicipitidae,
- family balaenidae,
- family balaenopteridae,
- family balanidae,
- family balistidae,
- family balsaminaceae,
- family bangiaceae,
- family bathyergidae,
- family batidaceae,
- family batrachoididae,
- family begoniaceae,
- family belemnitidae,
- family belonidae,
- family belostomatidae,
- family bennettitaceae,
- family berberidaceae,
- family betulaceae,
- family bible,
- family bignoniaceae,
- family bittacidae,
- family blastodiaceae,
- family blattidae,
- family blechnaceae,
- family blenniidae,
- family boidae,
- family boletaceae,
- family bombacaceae,
- family bombycidae,
- family bombycillidae,
- family bombyliidae,
- family boraginaceae,
- family bothidae,
- family bovidae,
- family bradypodidae,
- family bramidae,
- family branchiobdellidae,
- family branchiostegidae,
- family branchiostomidae,
- family brassicaceae,
- family brevicipitidae,
- family bromeliaceae,
- family brotulidae,
- family bruchidae,
- family bryaceae,
- family buccinidae,
- family bucconidae,
- family bucerotidae,
- family bufonidae,
- family burhinidae,
- family burmanniaceae,
- family burseraceae,
- family business,
- family buxaceae,
- family cactaceae,
- family caeciliadae,
- family caeciliidae,
- family caenolestidae,
- family caesalpiniaceae,
- family callionymidae,
- family calliphoridae,
- family callithricidae,
- family callitrichaceae,
- family calostomataceae,
- family calycanthaceae,
- family camelidae,
- family campanulaceae,
- family cancridae,
- family canellaceae,
- family canidae,
- family cannabidaceae,
- family cannaceae,
- family capitonidae,
- family capparidaceae,
- family caprifoliaceae,
- family caprimulgidae,
- family caproidae,
- family capromyidae,
- family capsidae,
- family carabidae,
- family carangidae,
- family carapidae,
- family carcharhinidae,
- family carchariidae,
- family cardiidae,
- family cariamidae,
- family caricaceae,
- family carpinaceae,
- family caryocaraceae,
- family caryophyllaceae,
- family castoridae,
- family casuaridae,
- family casuarinaceae,
- family cathartidae,
- family catostomidae,
- family caviidae,
- family cebidae,
- family cecidomyidae,
- family cecropiaceae,
- family celastraceae,
- family centrarchidae,
- family centriscidae,
- family centropomidae,
- family cephalobidae,
- family cephalotaceae,
- family cephalotaxaceae,
- family cerambycidae,
- family ceratodontidae,
- family ceratophyllaceae,
- family ceratopogonidae,
- family ceratopsidae,
- family ceratostomataceae,
- family cercidiphyllaceae,
- family cercopidae,
- family cercopithecidae,
- family certhiidae,
- family cervidae,
- family cestidae,
- family cetorhinidae,
- family chaetodontidae,
- family chalcidae,
- family chalcididae,
- family chamaeleonidae,
- family chamaeleontidae,
- family characeae,
- family characidae,
- family characinidae,
- family charadriidae,
- family chelonidae,
- family cheloniidae,
- family chelydridae,
- family chenopodiaceae,
- family chermidae,
- family chimaeridae,
- family chinchillidae,
- family chironomidae,
- family chlamydiaceae,
- family chlamydomonadaceae,
- family chloranthaceae,
- family chlorophthalmidae,
- family chrysochloridae,
- family chrysomelidae,
- family chrysopidae,
- family chytridiaceae,
- family cicadellidae,
- family cicadidae,
- family cichlidae,
- family cicindelidae,
- family ciconiidae,
- family cimicidae,
- family cinclidae,
- family cistaceae,
- family cladoniaceae,
- family clathraceae,
- family clavariaceae,
- family cleridae,
- family clethraceae,
- family clinidae,
- family clupeidae,
- family clusiaceae,
- family cobitidae,
- family coccidae,
- family coccinellidae,
- family coerebidae,
- family colchicaceae,
- family colubridae,
- family columbidae,
- family comatulidae,
- family combretaceae,
- family commelinaceae,
- family compositae,
- family congridae,
- family connaraceae,
- family convallariaceae,
- family convolvulaceae,
- family coprinaceae,
- family coraciidae,
- family cordaitaceae,
- family cordylidae,
- family coregonidae,
- family coreidae,
- family corixidae,
- family cornaceae,
- family cortinariaceae,
- family corvidae,
- family corydalidae,
- family corylaceae,
- family corynebacteriaceae,
- family coryphaenidae,
- family cotingidae,
- family cottidae,
- family court,
- family cracidae,
- family cracticidae,
- family crangonidae,
- family crassulaceae,
- family cricetidae,
- family crocodylidae,
- family crotalidae,
- family cruciferae,
- family cryptobranchidae,
- family cryptocercidae,
- family cryptogrammataceae,
- family ctenizidae,
- family cuculidae,
- family cucurbitaceae,
- family culicidae,
- family cunoniaceae,
- family cupressaceae,
- family curculionidae,
- family cuterebridae,
- family cyatheaceae,
- family cycadaceae,
- family cyclopteridae,
- family cymatiidae,
- family cynipidae,
- family cynocephalidae,
- family cynoglossidae,
- family cyperaceae,
- family cypraeidae,
- family cyprinidae,
- family cyprinodontidae,
- family cyrilliaceae,
- family dacninae,
- family dacrymycetaceae,
- family dactylopiidae,
- family dactylopteridae,
- family dactyloscopidae,
- family danaidae,
- family dasyatidae,
- family dasypodidae,
- family dasyproctidae,
- family dasyuridae,
- family dasyurinae,
- family daubentoniidae,
- family davalliaceae,
- family delphinidae,
- family dematiaceae,
- family dendrocolaptidae,
- family dennstaedtiaceae,
- family dermestidae,
- family dermochelyidae,
- family desmidiaceae,
- family desmodontidae,
- family diapensiaceae,
- family diaspididae,
- family dicamptodontidae,
- family dicksoniaceae,
- family dicranaceae,
- family didelphidae,
- family dilleniaceae,
- family dinornithidae,
- family diodontidae,
- family diomedeidae,
- family dioscoreaceae,
- family dipodidae,
- family dipsacaceae,
- family dipterocarpaceae,
- family discoglossidae,
- family doctor,
- family doliolidae,
- family dracunculidae,
- family drepanididae,
- family dromaeosauridae,
- family droseraceae,
- family drosophilidae,
- family dryopteridaceae,
- family dugongidae,
- family dytiscidae,
- family ebenaceae,
- family echeneidae,
- family echeneididae,
- family edaphosauridae,
- family eimeriidae,
- family elaeagnaceae,
- family elaeocarpaceae,
- family elapidae,
- family elateridae,
- family electrophoridae,
- family eleotridae,
- family elephantidae,
- family elopidae,
- family embiotocidae,
- family empetraceae,
- family emydidae,
- family endamoebidae,
- family engraulidae,
- family enterobacteriaceae,
- family entolomataceae,
- family entomophthoraceae,
- family epacridaceae,
- family ephedraceae,
- family ephemeridae,
- family ephippidae,
- family equidae,
- family equisetaceae,
- family erethizontidae,
- family ericaceae,
- family erinaceidae,
- family eriocaulaceae,
- family erysiphaceae,
- family erythroxylaceae,
- family eschrichtiidae,
- family esocidae