familiar

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /fəˈmɪl.i.ə/, US /fəˈmɪl.jɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English familier,^[2] borrowed from Old French familier (“related; friendly”),^[3][4] from Latin familiāris (“of a household, domestic; intimate, friendly”),^[3][5] a dissimilation of *familiālis, from familia (“household”),^[3][5] from famulus “servant”.^[6][7] It is related to family.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of persons, “on a family footing, extremely friendly, intimate”: about 1340 in the OED,^[8] the mid-14th century in Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

“Of or pertaining to one's family or household” is from about 1386,^[8] the late 14th century in Etymonline.^[3] “Unduly intimate”, too familiar, is from about 1450,^[8] and of animals, “tame, domesticated”, from 1483.^[8] Of things, “known from long association”, it is from the late 15th century,^[3] and “ordinary, usual” from the 1590s.^[3] As a noun it meant a close friend from the late 14th century,^[3] and a member of a great person's household from the 13th century in Merriam-Webster.^[2] A familiar spirit is from the 1560s, and the noun familiar, a demon or spirit that answers one's call, from the 1580s.^[3] Johnson in 1755 gave its senses as “domestic” and “affable, not formal”.^[9]

Timeline

• 13th century – noun, a member of a household.^[2]
• c. 1340 – intimate, friendly.^[8]
• c. 1386 – of a family.^[8]
• late 14th century – noun, a close friend.^[3]
• c. 1450 – unduly intimate.^[8]
• 1483 – of animals, tame.^[8]
• late 15th century – well known.^[3]
• 1560s – familiar spirit.^[3]
• 1590s – ordinary, usual.^[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Often seen or met; common or well known.
2. Having a good knowledge of something; acquainted: familiar with the rules.
3. On close friendly terms; intimate.
4. Relaxed and informal.
5. Taking undue liberties; presumptuous.

Noun

1. A close friend or companion.
2. An attendant spirit, often in the form of an animal.
3. A person who serves in the household of a high official, as of the pope.

Word family

• familiarly
• familiarness
• familiarise
• familiarize
• overfamiliar
• familiarity

Related words

• familial
• family
• famulus

Usage notes

The American Heritage distinguishes familiar from close, intimate, confidential and chummy: familiar suggests an easy, informal association from frequent contact, close a strong emotional attachment, intimate bonds formed by shared experience, and confidential closeness founded on trust.^[10]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin