taxonomic group under the order level and above the genus level.

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
family (noun)
1.
a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head - household
2.
a) a group of persons of ancestry - common clan
b) a people or group of peoples regarded as deriving from a common stock - race
3.
a) a group of people united by certain convictions or a common - affiliation fellowship
b) the staff of a high official (as the President)
4.
a group of things related by common characteristics as
a) a closely related series of elements or chemical compounds
b) a group of soils with similar chemical and physical properties (as texture, pH, and mineral content) that comprise a category ranking above the series and below the subgroup in soil - classification
c) a group of related languages descended from a single ancestral language
5.
a) the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children , also any of various social units differing from but regarded as equivalent to the traditional family - a single-parent family
b) spouse and children - want to spend more time with my family
6.
a) a group of plants or animals forming a category ranking above a genus and below an order and usually comprising several to many genera - related
b) in livestock breeding
(1) the or line of a particular individual especially of some outstanding female - descendants
(2) an identifiable strain within a breed
7.
a set of curves or surfaces whose equations differ only in parameters
8.
a unit of a crime syndicate (as the Mafia) operating within a geographical area
family (adjective)
1.
of or relating to a family - (see family)
2.
designed or suitable for both children and adults - family restaurants family movies
Related Articles:
family (Wikipedia)
This article is about the group of related people. For the taxonomic rank, see Family (biology). For other uses, see Family (disambiguation).
"Grandson" redirects here. For other uses, see Grandson (disambiguation).

In the context of human society, a family (from Latin: familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth), affinity (by marriage or other relationship), or co-residence (as implied by the etymology of the English word "family")[citation needed] or some combination of these.[citation needed] Members of the immediate family may include spouses, parents, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters.[citation needed] Members of the extended family may include grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces, and siblings-in-law.[citation needed] Sometimes these are also considered members of the immediate family, depending on an individual's specific relationship with them.[citation needed]

In most societies, the family is the principal institution for the socialization of children. As the basic unit for raising children, anthropologists generally classify most family organizations as matrifocal (a mother and her children); conjugal (a wife, her husband, and children, also called the nuclear family); avuncular (for example, a grandparent, a brother, his sister, and her children); or extended (parents and children co-reside with other members of one parent's family). Sexual relations among the members are regulated by rules concerning incest such as the incest taboo.

The word "family" can be used metaphorically to create more inclusive categories such as community, nationhood, global village, and humanism.

The field of genealogy aims to trace family lineages through history.

The family is also an important economic unit studied in family economics.

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