ENGLISH
REFERENCE

familial

adj.
C1 Advanced US //fəˈmɪɫjəɫ// UK //fæmˈɪlɪəl// fa·mil·ial

adj. relating to a family or typical of the relationships between family members.

adj. relating to or occurring within a family; often describes characteristics, traits, or conditions passed through generations.


SIMPLE

The house had a warm, familial atmosphere.

CONTEXTUAL

Doctors often ask about your familial medical history to identify potential genetic risks for certain diseases.

COMPLEX

The novel explores the complex familial bonds that tie the siblings together despite their vastly different political ideologies and geographic distances.

Synonyms
Origin

From French familial (“relating to a family; familial”), from Latin familia (“family (in the sense of the slaves working for a household); household”) (from famulus (“servant; slave”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰh₁-m-eló-, from dʰeh₁- (“to do, place, put”)) + French -al (adjective-forming suffix) (from Latin -ālis, from Proto-Indo-European *-li-). By surface analysis, family + -al. Piecewise doublet of familiar.

Usage

Typically used attributively before a noun; frequently appears in medical or sociological contexts.

Pitfall

They have a familyal problemThey have a familial problemLearners often misspell the word by trying to keep the full spelling of 'family' before adding the suffix.

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