I. fəˈmilyə(r), chiefly in substand speech fərˈmilyər noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English familier member of one's household, intimate associate, from Old French, member of one's household, from familier, adjective
1. : an intimate associate : companion
with familiars he has the unvarnished candor of old people and children — Janet Flanner
2. : a member of the household of a high official : one who belongs to an official family
a mile away 269 … familiars or courtiers were buried — V.G.Childe
specifically : a layman employed as a resident servant in a Roman Catholic institution or in the household of a high dignitary of the Roman Catholic church
3. : a confidential officer of the Inquistion whose task was to apprehend and imprison the accused
4. : a supernatural spirit often embodied in an animal and at the service of a person
the loathsome toad, the witches' familiar — Harvey Graham
5.
a. : one who is well acquainted with something
familiars of the measure — C.G.Poore
b. : one who frequents a place
familiars of the embassy — Rebecca West
II. adjective
Etymology: Middle English familier, familiar, from Old French familier, from Latin familiaris, from familia + -aris -ar — more at family
1. : closely associated : intimate: as
a. : on a family footing
his familiar friend — Marjory S. Douglas
b. : having a supernatural relationship with people
a prayer to the familiar sharks … which have exchanged souls with living men — C.E.Fox
c. : sexually intimate
the girl with whom he has been familiar having to leave school — Evelyn M. Duvall
2. obsolete : affable and courteous : sociable
bland and familiar to the throne he came — Alexander Pope
3.
a. : of or relating to a family
familiar domestic happenings — G.F.Whicher
it is convenient to refer to many of the natural acids by their familiar names — T.P.Hilditch
b. : designed for family use : frequented by families
a familiar resort … favored by couples with children — Betty de Sherbinin
4. : of an informal nature : unceremonious: as
a. : free and easy
a child's familiar access to his eminent … circle — W.V.O'Connor
b. : marked by informality and nonadherence to rigid structure
he learned to write a passable familiar essay — J.W.Krutch
functional varieties may roughly be grouped together in the two classes familiar and formal writing and speaking — J.S.Kenyon
c. : overly free and unrestrained : presumptuous
he was rather noisily familiar with them — Robertson Davies
5. of a wild animal — used to human company : not alarmed by proximity to people : moderately tame
he is tame and familiar and sings on the tree over your head or on the rock a few paces in advance — John Burroughs
6.
a. : frequently seen or experienced : easily recognized
he was a familiar figure at the opera — Edna Yost
some familiar scent can carry one back to early childhood — Stuart Chase
b. : of everyday occurrence : common , ordinary
emotions which he has never experienced will serve his turn as well as those familiar to him — T.S.Eliot
c. : currently accepted or previously tested : well-known
America's most familiar poet — Lewis Leary b. 1906
the new can be learned successfully only in terms of the familiar — W.M.Mason
7. : well acquainted through personal knowledge or study : conversant
familiar with what is being taught to our children in schools — Vera M. Dean
Synonyms:
intimate , confidential , close , thick , chummy : familiar may suggest natural ease, informality, lack of reserve, constraint, or stiffness, ensuing from long acquaintanceship, as among members of a family
she was constantly referring to dear friends by their Christian names, in a casual and familiar way — Havelock Ellis
the familiar, if not rude tone, in which people addressed her — Nathaniel Hawthorne
intimate always indicates closeness of relationship and it usually suggests a closeness, warmth, personal nearness, or emotionalism which transcends and intensifies the more factual suggestion of familiar
intimate as man is with his habitat — L.A.White
the intimate political relation subsisting between the President of the United States and the heads of departments — John Marshall
intimate letters … love letters which were never written to be published — Havelock Ellis
man never derives any intimate help, any heart sustenance, from his brother man, but from woman — Nathaniel Hawthorne
confidential stresses a reposing of confidence, a willingness to confide innermost thoughts and feelings
the growing harmony and confidential friendship which daily manifest themselves between their majesties — William Pitt †1778
a tone as sad and confidential as if he were … preluding a declaration of love — W.M.Thackeray
close in this sense suggests strong liking and accustomed agreement and compatibility leading to steady association
I would be with Adam a lot … she'd tag along, for she and Adam were very close — R.P.Warren
being close to Peggy, [he] was aware that she … acted by her own secret intuitions — Morley Callaghan
thick indicates an accustomed close association or cooperation, often in devious ways or for dishonest purposes
he … does a lot of bail bond business … and is pretty thick with … the chief of police — Dashiell Hammett
he'd told me that you and Pamela Dean were as thick as thieves — Dorothy Sayers
chummy takes its color from the word chum and describes easy, steady, confidential association with compatibility of interests
an unprecedented thing … for a captain to be chummy with the cook — Jack London
Synonym: see in addition common .