Fam"i*ly (?), n.;
pl. Families (#). [L.
familia, fr. famulus servant; akin to Oscan
famel servant, cf. faamat he dwells, Skr. dhāman
house, fr. dhāto 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.
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 pretend 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 group of kindred or closely related individuals;
as, a family of languages; a family of States; the chlorine family.
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 zoölogy a family
is less comprehesive than an order; in botany it is
often considered the same thing as
an order.
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 andd dependent upon him. (b) A man of domestic habits. "The Jews
are generally, when married, most exemplary family men." Mayhew.
-- Family of curves
or 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.]
Hear it pronounced