famiglia Italian · revision 37592

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=13th century, Patecchio (Cremona)|origins=la familia}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /faˈmiʎ.ʎa/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''famiglia''' ''f'' (plural famiglie, diminutive famigliòla or (literary) famigliuòla or (rare) famiglìna, augmentative famiglióna, pejorative famigliàccia, endearing-derogatory famigliùccia)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian also wrote ''familia'', and northern texts have forms such as ''fameglia'', ''fameia'' and ''famia''.^(TLIO)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|familia|t=the slaves of a household; household]], from [[m|la|famulus|t=servant]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The cluster /lj/ became /ʎ/, as in other popular words.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) DEI calls the word popular throughout the Romance area except France and the Iberian Peninsula.^(DEI|1591) There [[fr|famille]], [[oc|familha]], [[ca|familia]] and [[es|familia]] are learned forms, while [[ro|femeie]] came to mean “woman”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)

+

+ Ancient antiquarians took the Latin word, with [[m|la|famulus]], to be Oscan, and Nocentini notes that its relatives are found only among the Italic languages.^(Nocentini 2010) Wiktionary derives it from [[itc-pro|*fameliā]] and further from [[ine-pro|*dʰeh₁-|t=to put, place]], with [[m|la|famulus]] as a back-formation from it.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the ''Splanamento'' of the Cremonese poet Patecchio (13th century).^(TLIO) DELI's first dates are Guittone d'Arezzo (before 1294), for the family of parents and children, and Bono Giamboni (before 1292), for the retinue of a great man or the servants of a house.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian the word covered everyone under the authority of the head of the house: relatives and servants together.^(TLIO) It also meant a lineage, and phrases such as ''padre di famiglia'' and ''di buona famiglia'' are already old.^(TLIO) In the old language ''famiglia'' could name a servant, and ''famiglio'' and ''famigliare'' a constable, a sense the collective noun had too.^(Prati 1951|420) DEI adds an armed band and a religious order.^(DEI|1591)

+

+ From the 18th century the word was used in the natural sciences for a group of genera with common characters (Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti, 1754) and in geometry for a class of curves (D'Alberti, 1798).^(DELI 1999) Modern Italian also uses it for a clan in the Mafia.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The word was borrowed into Maltese and Ottoman Turkish.^(Wiktionary)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 13th century – Patecchio of Cremona uses the word.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for a retinue or household servants.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses it for parents and children.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1374 – Petrarch uses the diminutive ''famigliola''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1754 – Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti uses it for a group of plants or animals.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1798 – D'Alberti records ''famiglia di curve'' in geometry.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1961 – ''Familismo'' is borrowed from English ''familism''.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|family]]: a group of people related by marriage or kinship, especially parents and their children: ''Domenica pranziamo in famiglia.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A lineage, house or [[m|en|dynasty]]: ''una famiglia di antica nobiltà''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(historical)'' The retinue of a great person, or the servants of a house.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A group of people joined by a common bond, such as a religious order: ''la famiglia francescana''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # In Mafia slang, a clan under one boss.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(biology)'' A rank in classification, above the genus and below the order.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+ # A group of similar things, such as words of one root or, in mathematics, of curves or sets.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[famigliola]]

+ * [[famiglio]]

+ * [[familiare]]

+ * [[familiarità]]

+ * [[familiarizzare]]

+ * [[familismo]]

+ * [[sottofamiglia]]

+ * [[superfamiglia]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[famulo]]

+ * [[la|familia]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Avere famiglia'' or ''tenere famiglia'' means to be married with children to support, and ''metter su famiglia'' to start a family.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}