Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

familial

/fəˈmɪljəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.22 in modern English

Syllables
fa-mi-li-al
IPA
/fəˈmɪljəl/
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
4
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of or pertaining to a human family.

adj

Pertaining to a taxon at the rank of family.

adj

Of or pertaining to any grouping of things referred to as a family.

adj

Inherited.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From French familial (“relating to a family; familial”), from Latin familia (“family (in the sense of the slaves working for a household); household”) (from famulus (“servant; slave”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁-m-eló-, from *dʰeh₁- (“to do, place, put”)) + French -al (adjective-forming suffix) (from Latin -ālis, from Proto-Indo-European *-li-). By surface analysis, family + -al. Piecewise doublet of familiar.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *dʰeh₁-, familial, familia, *dʰh₁-m-eló-, -al, -ālis

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /fəˈmɪljəl/
  • British English: /fəˈmɪljəl/

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Questions

How do you pronounce familial?
The recorded pronunciation is /fəˈmɪljəl/.
What does familial mean?
Of or pertaining to a human family.
Where does familial come from?
It is traced to French.

How to pronounce familial

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “familial”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/fəˈmɪljəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “familial”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “familial” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.