Phrase in a family way "pregnant" is from 1796. An origin is a start. The early history of family can be appreciated by looking at the related adjective familiar, which originally meant that someone was of one’s own household, someone closely associated or a servant. True meaning of Family I sometimes wonder :what is the real meaning of family? Of course, not every word in the English language can be simply sounded out, but this is an ideal place to start. Cookies and privacy c. A group of persons related by descent or marriage: My whole family… Meaning of Family. Family circle is 1809; family man "man devoted to wife and children, man inclined to lead a domestic life" is 1856 (earlier it meant "thief," 1788, from family in a slang sense of "the fraternity of thieves"). Those words make us think of certain people. All rights reserved.This page URL: http://www.worldwidewords.org/topicalwords/tw-fam1.htmLast modified: 6 June 1998. How to use word family in a sentence. Intermediate and Advanced level grammar practice with progress tests. It is professional enough to satisfy academic standards, but accessible enough to be used by anyone. From shared bloodlines and ancestors to a household made up of parents and children, these definitions seem better suited to explain words like relative or cohabitation rather than what a family consists of. It’s been argued that the change in meaning was a consequence of the rise of the middle class and so was intimately linked to property. "Family" is from the Latin word familia, which means "family; household" and, originally, "slaves of the household". The word for an individual slave was famulus for a male, famula for a female. This was about 47% of all the recorded Word's in Canada. It was soon extended to mean those descended, or claiming descent, from a common ancestor, a house, as we might still refer today to “the house of Windsor” for the whole kin group of the present British royal family. In most societies, it is within families that children acquire socializationfor life outside the family, and acts as the primary source of attachment, nurturing, … Family is individuals who have special meaning. Engels wrote The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State in just two months – beginning toward the end of March 1884 and completing it by the end of May. There was once a pair of phrases, familiar angel and familiar devil (which led to that odd noun familiar, “a demon or evil spirit supposed to come when called”) that retained this idea of a servant relationship. Family definition is - the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children; also : any of various social units differing from but regarded as equivalent to the traditional family. The most Word families were found in the USA in 1880. Hence, "any group of things classed as kindred based on common distinguishing characteristics" (1620s); as a scientific classification, between genus and order, from 1753. or do you call someone family because your expected to? see also word family; Word Origin late Middle English (in sense (3); also denoting the servants of a household or the retinue of a nobleman): from Latin familia ‘household servants, family’, from famulus ‘servant’. 'Family' is a single word, with many different meanings. The word family may mean something quite different to an African-American, an American Indian, or a southeast Asian refugee, a stepparent, a foster parent, a landlord, or a zoning board member. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1352, 1379, 1627, 1685, 1698, 1535, 1491, 1500, 1476 and 1480 are included under the topic Early Word History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. A fundamental social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children. It replaced Old English hiwscipe, hiwan "family," cognate with Old Norse hjon "one of the household; married couple, man and wife; domestic servant," and with Old High German hiwo "husband," hiwa "wife," also with Lithuanian šeimyna "family," Gothic haims "village," Old English ham "village, home" (see home (n.)). The shift in sense of family from “household, including servants” to “near kin” seems to have taken place quite gradually during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and not to have been complete until the early nineteenth century. The word family came into English in the fifteenth century. Word families help students learn to read, while building their vocabulary. Family tree "graph of ancestral relations" attested from 1752. a collection of things sharing a common attribute, a person having kinship with another or others, (biology) a taxonomic group containing one or more genera, a loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized criminal activities, an association of people who share common beliefs or activities. Copyright © Michael Quinion, 1996–. It is not a passive birthright but a choice, a discipline of kindness that helps us thrive both as individuals and as a society.” - Fernando Barcelona, President / Creative Director, Barcelona and Friends “Holding on as one. In a totally different direction, family doesn’t always have to be biological, … early 15c., "servants of a household," from Latin familia "family servants, domestics collectively, the servants in a household," thus also "members of a household, the estate, property; the household, including relatives and servants," abstract noun formed from famulus "servant, slave," which is of unknown origin. World Wide Words tries to record at least a part of this shifting wordscape by featuring new words, word histories, words in the news, and the curiosities of native English speech. Origin Late Middle English (in family (sense 2 of the noun); also denoting the servants of a household or the retinue of a nobleman): from Latin familia ‘household servants, family’, from famulus ‘servant’. World Wide Words is copyright © Michael Quinion, 1996–. Ideally, families would offer predictability, structure, and safety as members mature and participate in the community. As an adjective from c. 1600; with the meaning "suitable for a family," by 1807. Its root lies in the Latin word famulus, “servant”. All rights reserved. Many people will find this wording surprisingly liberal and progressive for a body that’s usually thought of as conservative. Do you call someone family because they share your same blood line? Being able to recognize patterns and common phonetic sounds is the foundation for strong spelling skills. It might also describe an even wider grouping of a whole people conceived as having similarly descended from a common ancestor. The post-modern family is not a new model of family life, not the next stage in an orderly progression of family history, but the stage when the belief in a logical progression of stages breaks down. At the time of the publication of the Authorised Version of the Bible in 1611, family still had these connotations. But it probably also results from a slowly developing physical and organisational separation between a man’s domestic affairs and those of his business or occupation, a distinction that was effectively complete only in the early years of the nineteenth century. The definition of the word family can mean many things. New words appear; old ones fall out of use or alter their meanings. Family, as a concept, came into existence when the hunting-gathering ancestors of humans began to live together in groups to ensure protection against predators. Family definition at Dictionary.com, a free online dictionary with pronunciation, synonyms and translation. Its root lies in the Latin word famulus, “servant”. 1998, Problems viewing this page? was used. But it actually takes the word back towards one of its earlier senses. Page created 6 Jun. womensecretdiary's Blog A great WordPress.com site. How does one put into words all that define how they feel when it comes to what family is? Affixes dictionary. Word family definition is - a group of cognate words especially within a single language. How to use family in a sentence. … The first meaning in English was close to our modern word “household” — a group of individuals living under one roof that included blood relations and servants. Donate via PayPal. With the passage of time and the advent of agriculture as a means of subsistence, these groups became even more close-knit with their members sharing social and economic responsibilities. The children of one of these groups: She raised a large family. The more things change, it seems, the more things stay the same. The Latin word is a combination of the word “famulus” meaning “servant” and the suffix “-ia,” it explains. Exercises. If it is so important, it is also important to understand what God’s plan for the family is so that we can understand the rest of His Word as it applies to us today. Defining family can be a tough thing as the word “family” alone is a powerful word that conjures up multiple different meanings and emotions. Early History of the Word family. The site has become a favorite resource of teachers of reading, spelling, and English as a second language. An exception to this standard definition of family is in clinical and counseling psychology, where family includes one’s family of origin (parents and siblings) in addition to spouse and children” (Patterson, 1996; Rothausen, 1999, p. 818). Origin family (1400-1500) familia “ people living in a house ”, from famulus “ servant ” Exercises. The structure of the family is vital to so many other laws, principles and teachings in the Bible. It was a characteristic that was most noticeable among the new wage-earning groups of the lower middle and working classes, and may account for the survival of the separate sense of “lineage” among the upper classes. Derivatives of famulus include famula "serving woman, maid," famulanter "in the manner of a servant," famulitas "servitude," familiaris "of one's household, private," familiaricus "of household slaves," familiaritas "close friendship.". People have many ways of defining a family and what being a part of a family means to them. Copied! They comfort us and even put us in our place. family noun (SOCIAL GROUP) A1 [ C or U + sing/pl verb ] a group of people who are related to each other, such as a mother, a father, and their children: A new family has/have moved in next door. The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State begins with an extensive discussion of Ancient Society which describes the major stages of human development as commonly understood in Engels' time. The Church of England’s Children’s Society recently redefined what it means by the word family as: “An emotionally supportive network of adults and children, some of whom live together or have lived together”. G od has chosen the framework of the family to help us understand authority and His plan in our life. This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Word research. Look it up now! For example in Genesis, we have “By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations”. The English language is forever changing. The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, which is aimed at non-native English speakers, also explains that the word “family” is derived from the Latin word “famulus”, meaning “servant”. In 1911 there were 101 Word families living in Ontario. The Word family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. Synonyms of Family will be presented below each meaning if they are available. I thought long and… Skip to primary content.