Etymology

family

fa·mi·ly
F4A1M3I1L1Y4

Today it means: A group of people who are closely related to one another (by blood, marriage or adoption); kin; in particular, a set of parents and their children; an immediate family. Full definition →

Middle English famylye ← Latin familia
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromfamilia“a household”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromfamylye
  3. English todayfamily

From Late Middle English famylye, from Latin familia (“a household”). Displaced native Old English hīred and hād. Doublet of familia.

Words from the same roots

Latinfamilia all →

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.