What does familiar mean?
Definitions for familiar
fəˈmɪl yərfa·mil·iar
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word familiar.
Princeton's WordNet
familiarnoun
a person attached to the household of a high official (as a pope or bishop) who renders service in return for support
companion, comrade, fellow, familiar, associatenoun
a friend who is frequently in the company of another
"drinking companions"; "comrades in arms"
familiar, familiar spiritadjective
a spirit (usually in animal form) that acts as an assistant to a witch or wizard
familiaradjective
well known or easily recognized
"a familiar figure"; "familiar songs"; "familiar guests"
familiaradjective
within normal everyday experience; common and ordinary; not strange
"familiar ordinary objects found in every home"; "a familiar everyday scene"; "a familiar excuse"; "a day like any other filled with familiar duties and experiences"
conversant(p), familiar(p)adjective
(usually followed by `with') well informed about or knowing thoroughly
"conversant with business trends"; "familiar with the complex machinery"; "he was familiar with those roads"
familiar, intimateadjective
having mutual interests or affections; of established friendship
"on familiar terms"; "pretending she is on an intimate footing with those she slanders"
Wiktionary
familiarnoun
A member of one's family or household.
familiarnoun
A close friend.
familiarnoun
An attendant spirit often in animal form.
The witch's familiar was a black cat.
familiaradjective
Known to one.
There's a familiar face.
familiaradjective
Acquainted.
I'm not familiar with this system.
familiaradjective
Intimate or friendly.
We are not on familiar terms.
familiaradjective
Inappropriately intimate or friendly.
Don't be familiar with me, boy!
familiaradjective
Of or pertaining to a family; familial.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
FAMILIARadjective
Etymology: familiaris, Latin.
They range familiar to the dome. Alexander Pope.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. William Shakespeare, Hamlet.
Be not too familiar with Poins; for he misuses thy favours so much, that he swears thou art to marry his sister Nell. William Shakespeare.
Kalandar streight thought he saw his niece Parthenia, and was about in such familiar sort to have spoken unto her; but she, in grave and honourable manner, gave him to understand that he was mistaken. Philip Sidney.
I see not how the Scripture could be possibly made familiar unto all, unless far more should be read in the people’s hearing than by a sermon can be opened. Richard Hooker, b. v. s. 22.
Let us chuse such limbs of noble counsel,
That the great body of our state may go
In equal rank with the best govern’d nation;
That war, or peace, or both at once, may be
As things acquainted and familiar to us. William Shakespeare, Henry IV.Our sweet
Recess, and only consolation left
Familiar to our eyes! John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. xi.One idea which is familiar to the mind, connected with others which are new and strange, will bring those new ideas into easy remembrance. Isaac Watts, Improvement of the Mind.
Or chang’d at length, and to the place conform’d
In temper and in nature, will receive
Familiar the fierce heat, and void of pain. John Milton, P. Lost.The senses at first let in particular ideas; and the mind, by degrees, growing familiar with some of them, they are lodged in the memory, and names got to them. John Locke.
He was amazed how so impotent and groveling an insect as I could entertain such inhuman ideas, and in so familiar a manner, as to appear wholly unmoved at all the scenes of blood and desolation. Gulliver’s Travels.
Patient permit the sadly-pleasing strain;
Familiar now with grief, your tears refrain. Alexander Pope, Odyssey.To a wrong hypothesis, may be reduced the errors that may be occasioned by a true hypothesis, but not rightly understood: there is nothing more familiar than this. John Locke.
He unreins
His muse, and sports in loose familiar strains. Addison.A poor man found a priest familiar with his wife, and because he spake it abroad, and could not prove it, the priest sued him for defamation. William Camden.
Familiarnoun
The king is a noble gentleman, and my familiar. William Shakespeare.
When he finds himself avoided and neglected by his familiars, this affects him. John Rogers, Sermon 10.
Love is a familiar; there is no evil angel but love. William Shakespeare.
Wikipedia
Familiar
In European folklore of the medieval and early modern periods, familiars (sometimes referred to as familiar spirits) were believed to be supernatural entities that would assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic. According to records of the time, those alleging to have had contact with familiar spirits reported that they could manifest as numerous forms, usually as an animal, but sometimes as a human or humanoid figure, and were described as "clearly defined, three-dimensional... forms, vivid with colour and animated with movement and sound", as opposed to descriptions of ghosts with their "smoky, undefined form[s]".When they served witches, they were often thought to be malevolent, but when working for cunning folk they were often considered benevolent (although there was some ambiguity in both cases). The former were often categorized as demons, while the latter were more commonly thought of and described as fairies. The main purpose of familiars was to serve the witch, providing protection for them as they came into their new powers.Since the 20th century some magical practitioners, including adherents of the Neopagan religion of Wicca, use the concept of familiars, due to their association with older forms of magic. These contemporary practitioners use pets or wildlife, or believe that invisible versions of familiars act as magical aides.
ChatGPT
familiar
Familiar refers to something or someone that is well known, recognizable, or well accustomed to, typically due to frequent contact, experience, or knowledge.
Webster Dictionary
Familiaradjective
of or pertaining to a family; domestic
Familiaradjective
closely acquainted or intimate, as a friend or companion; well versed in, as any subject of study; as, familiar with the Scriptures
Familiaradjective
characterized by, or exhibiting, the manner of an intimate friend; not formal; unconstrained; easy; accessible
Familiaradjective
well known; well understood; common; frequent; as, a familiar illustration
Familiaradjective
improperly acquainted; wrongly intimate
Familiarnoun
an intimate; a companion
Familiarnoun
an attendant demon or evil spirit
Familiarnoun
a confidential officer employed in the service of the tribunal, especially in apprehending and imprisoning the accused
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Familiar
fa-mil′yar, adj. well acquainted or intimate: showing the manner of an intimate: free: unceremonious: having a thorough knowledge of: well known or understood: private, domestic: common, plain.—n. one well or long acquainted: a spirit or demon supposed to attend an individual at call: a member of a pope's or bishop's household: the officer of the Inquisition who arrested the suspected.—v.t. Famil′iarise, to make thoroughly acquainted: to accustom: to make easy by practice or study.—n. Familiar′ity, intimate acquaintanceship: freedom from constraint: any unusual or unwarrantable freedom in act or speech toward another, acts of license—usually in pl.—adv. Famil′iarly. [O. Fr. familier—L. familiaris, from familia, a family.]
CrunchBase
Familiar
Familiar turns your computer into a social picture frame programmed by your closest friends and family. Familiar brings photos directly to your screen, blending elements of the picture frame and slideshow to personalize your screen with life’s cherished moments. Mom and Dad, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters can all get connected on Familiar so their screensaver is personalized with the best family photos.
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'familiar' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1810
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'familiar' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2757
Adjectives Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'familiar' in Adjectives Frequency: #236
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of familiar in Chaldean Numerology is: 3
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of familiar in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6
Examples of familiar in a Sentence
You're telling me that a chef must be familiar with every ingredient in a cupcake because of allergies, but a doctor is not required to be familiar with the contents in a vaccination.
The pill and sterilization are our oldest forms of birth control and women are more familiar with them, so many women use what they are familiar with. However, as newer devices come unto the market and become popular, that may change.
There aren’t any real surprises that will confuse me, and that makes things go a lot more smoothly, even the way they run the tours are familiar. I’m very comfortable in the process even when we’re out off the ship going somewhere. The methodology, the way they conduct the tours is all very familiar.
Trump is very familiar to Filipinos. Many people have observed that he and Duterte have many things in common -- they are both sexist at best, misogynous at worst. They incite to hate and sometimes to violence, and they tend to divide and conquer, making it us against them, instead of providing a leadership that tries to unite and to heal, but in general, Filipinos are stunned by what's happening in the US. It is familiar to us -- we have a president who tells police to shoot people dead -- but this is the United States. It's always been the guiding light, the values of democracy, the founding fathers' declaration of independence. And for the last three years, we and the world have grappled with who takes global leadership. We are wondering, has democracy failed?
The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
Translations for familiar
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- مألوفArabic
- знаёмыBelarusian
- интимен, близък, известен, фамилиарен, познатBulgarian
- familiarCatalan, Valencian
- obeznámenýCzech
- bekendtDanish
- bekanntGerman
- γνώριμος, γνωστός, εξοικειωμένος, οικείος, φιλικόςGreek
- espíritu familiar, familiar, familiarizadoSpanish
- آشناPersian
- tuttu, tuttavallinen, apuolento, läheinen, apuhenkiFinnish
- familierFrench
- ծանոթ, մտերիմArmenian
- famiglio, familiareItalian
- מוּכָּרHebrew
- なじみ, 使い魔Japanese
- nêz, nas, niyas, شارهزا, nêzîkKurdish
- rataMāori
- geleidegeest, familiair, geleidedier, vertrouwd, bekendDutch
- kjentNorwegian
- poufały, chowaniec, znajomy, bliski, znanyPolish
- familiar, conhecido, próximo, espírito familiarPortuguese
- известный, интимный, знакомый, знакомые, фамильярный, близкийRussian
- zaštitnikSerbo-Croatian
- bekantSwedish
- తెలిసినTelugu
- pamilyarTagalog
- знайомийUkrainian
- 熟悉Chinese
Get even more translations for familiar »
Translation
Find a translation for the familiar definition in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Word of the Day
Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?
Citation
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"familiar." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Web. 2 Oct. 2023. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/familiar>.
Discuss these familiar definitions with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In