FAMILIAR • FREE-TRANSLATOR.COM • Definition of Familiar

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/fəmˈɪljər/ Listen

adjective

Familiar adj.

1.

Of or pertaining to a family; domestic. "Familiar feuds."

Synonyms: 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." "Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar."

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." "There is nothing more familiar than this."

5.

Improperly acquainted; wrongly intimate.

Familiar spirit, a demon or evil spirit supposed to attend at call.

noun

Familiar n.

1.

An intimate; a companion. "All my familiars watched for my halting."

2.

An attendant demon or evil spirit.

3.

(Court of Inquisition) A confidential officer employed in the service of the tribunal, especially in apprehending and imprisoning the accused.

See images of 'Familiar'

Etymology of 'Familiar'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Familiar" Quotes from Famous Books

... the haven therewithal, and fair and happy west Swelleth the sails: o'er whirl of waves full speedily they wend, And glad to that familiar sand they turn them in the end: But there Acestes meeteth them, who from a mountain high All wondering had seen afar the friendly ships draw nigh. With darts he bristled, and was clad in fell of Libyan bear. Him erst unto Crimisus' flood ...

— The AEneids of Virgil - Done into English Verse • Virgil

... would only have provoked disobedience had all sorts of climbing been forbidden, for the temptation to try to outdo each other in their imitation of the sailors, was quite irresistible; and not a rope in the rigging, nor a corner in the ship, but they were familiar with before the first few days were over. "And, indeed, they were wonderfully preserved, the foolish lads," their father acknowledged, and grew content about them ...

— Janet's Love and Service • Margaret M Robertson

... of so frightful mien As to be hated needs but to be seen. Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face We first ...

— Dante: "The Central Man of All the World" • John T. Slattery

... had revived thoughts of his old home and its associations, and instead of awaiting other reasons for a return he made her the operating one. About a week later he stood once again at the foot of the familiar steep whereon the houses at the entrance to the Isle were perched like grey pigeons on ...

— The Well-Beloved • Thomas Hardy

... fictitious, and that the men adopted them partly to conceal their real names, and partly because they supposed that they should ingratiate themselves more fully with the lower classes of the people by assuming these familiar ...

— Richard II - Makers of History • Jacob Abbott

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