From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
family
n 1: 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:
household, house, home, menage]
2: primary social group; parents and children; "he wanted to
have a good job before starting a family" [syn: {family
unit}]
3: people descended from a common ancestor; "his family has
lived in Massachusetts since the Mayflower" [syn: {family
line}, folk, kinfolk, kinsfolk, sept, phratry]
4: a collection of things sharing a common attribute; "there
are two classes of detergents" [syn: class, category]
5: 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:
fellowship]
6: (biology) a taxonomic group containing one or more genera;
"sharks belong to the fish family"
7: a person having kinship with another or others; "he's kin";
"he's family" [syn: kin, kinsperson]
8: a loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized
criminal activities [syn: syndicate, crime syndicate,
mob]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [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]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [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.
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The welfare of the family underlies the welfare of
society. --H. Spencer.
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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.
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Go ! and pretend your family is young. --Pope.
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4. Course of descent; genealogy; line of ancestors; lineage.
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5. Honorable descent; noble or respectable stock; as, a man
of family.
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6. A group of kindred or closely related individuals; as, a
family of languages; a family of States; the chlorine
family.
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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.
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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]
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