Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Familiar

Fa-milˊiar

,
Adj.
[OE.
familer
,
familier
, F.
familier
, fr. L.
familiaris
, fr.
familia
family. See
Family
.]
1.
Of or pertaining to a family; domestic.
Familiar feuds.”
Byron.

Syn. – familial.
2.
Closely acquainted or intimate, as a friend or companion; well versed in, as any subject of study;
as,
familiar
with the Scriptures
.
3.
Characterized by, or exhibiting, the manner of an intimate friend; not formal; unconstrained; easy; accessible.
“In loose, familiar strains.”
Addison.
Be thou
familiar
, but by no means vulgar.
Shakespeare
4.
Well known; well understood; common; frequent;
as, a
familiar
illustration
.
That war, or peace, or both at once, may be
As things acquainted and
familiar
to us.
Shakespeare
There is nothing more
familiar
than this.
Locke.
5.
Improperly acquainted; wrongly intimate.
Camden.
Familiar spirit
,
a demon or evil spirit supposed to attend at call.
1 Sam. xxviii. 3, 7-9.

Fa-mil′iar

,
Noun.
1.
An intimate; a companion.
All my
familiars
watched for my halting.
Jer. xx. 10.
2.
An attendant demon or evil spirit.
Shak.
3.
(Court of Inquisition)
A confidential officer employed in the service of the tribunal, especially in apprehending and imprisoning the accused.

Webster 1828 Edition


Familiar

FAMIL'IAR

,
Adj.
famil'yar. [L. familiaris, familia, family, which see.]
1.
Pertaining to a family; domestic.
2.
Accustomed by frequent converse; well acquainted with; intimate; close; as a familiar friend or companion.
3.
Affable; not formal or distant; easy in conversation.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
4.
Well acquainted with; knowing by frequent use. Be familiar with the scriptures.
5.
Well known; learned or well understood by frequent use. Let the scriptures be familiar to us.
6.
Unceremonious; free; unconstrained; easy. The emperor conversed with the gentleman in the most familiar manner.
7.
Common; frequent and intimate. By familiar intercourse, strong attachments are soon formed.
8.
Easy; unconstrained; not formal. His letters are written in a familiar style.
He sports in loose familiar strains.
9.
Intimate in an unlawful degree.
A poor man found a priest familiar with his wife.

FAMIL'IAR

, n.
1.
An intimate; a close companion; one long acquainted; one accustomed to another by free, unreserved converse.
All my familiars watched for my halting. Jer. 20.
2.
A demon or evil spirit supposed to attend at a call. But in general we say, a familiar spirit.
3.
In the court of Inquisition, a person who assists in apprehending and imprisoning the accused.

Definition 2024


familiar

familiar

See also: familiär

English

Adjective

familiar (comparative more familiar, superlative most familiar)

  1. Known to one.
    • 2013 July 20, Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
      Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.
    there’s a familiar face;  that tune sounds familiar
  2. Acquainted.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 20, in The China Governess:
      The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen. No one queried it. It was in the classic pattern of human weakness, mean and embarrassing and sad.
    I'm quite familiar with this system;  she's not familiar with manual gears
  3. Intimate or friendly.
    we are not on familiar terms;  our neighbour is not familiar
    • Shakespeare
      Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
  4. Inappropriately intimate or friendly.
    Don’t be familiar with me, boy!
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Camden to this entry?)
  5. Of or pertaining to a family; familial.
    • Byron
      familiar feuds

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

familiar (plural familiars)

  1. (obsolete) A member of one's family or household.
  2. (obsolete) A close friend.
    • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, II.i.4.2:
      [A] friend of mine, that finding a receipt in Brassavola, would needs take hellebore in substance, and try it on his own person; but had not some of his familiars come to visit him by chance, he had by his indiscretion hazarded himself; many such I have observed.
  3. An attendant spirit, often in animal form.
    The witch’s familiar was a black cat.

Synonyms

See also

Translations


Catalan

Adjective

familiar m, f (masculine and feminine plural familiars)

  1. familiar

Noun

familiar m, f (plural familiars)

  1. relative

Galician

Adjective

familiar m, f (plural familiares)

  1. of family
  2. close, familiar
  3. daily, plain

Noun

familiar m (plural familiares)

  1. relative

Synonyms

Related terms


Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

familiar m

  1. plural indefinite of familie

Portuguese

Adjective

familiar m, f (plural familiares, comparable)

  1. familiar (known to one)
  2. of or relating to a family

Noun

familiar m (plural familiares)

  1. (chiefly in the plural) relative (person in the same family)
  2. familiar (attendant spirit)

Synonyms

Related terms


Spanish

Adjective

familiar m, f (plural familiares)

  1. familial, family
  2. close, familiar
  3. daily, plain

Noun

familiar m (plural familiares)

  1. relative

Related terms