/ fəˈmɪliə(r); NAmE / adjective
1.
familiar (to sb) well known to you; often seen or heard and therefore easy to recognize :
to look / sound / taste familiar
He's a familiar figure in the neighbourhood.
The smell is very familiar to everyone who lives near a bakery.
Something about her voice was vaguely familiar.
Violent attacks are becoming all too familiar (= sadly familiar) .
OPP unfamiliar
2.
familiar with sth knowing sth very well :
an area with which I had been familiar since childhood
Are you familiar with the computer software they use?
OPP unfamiliar
3.
familiar (with sb) ( of a person's behaviour ) very informal, sometimes in a way that is unpleasant :
You seem to be on very familiar terms with your tutor.
After a few drinks her boss started getting too familiar for her liking.
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English (in the sense intimate , on a family footing ): from Old French familier , from Latin familiaris , from familia household servants, family, from famulus servant.