Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Family \Fam"i*ly\, n.; pl. Families. [L. familia, fr. famulus servant; akin to Oscan famel servant, cf. faamat he dwells, Skr. dh[=a]man house, fr. dh[=a]to set, make, do: cf. F. famille. Cf. Do, v. t., Doom, Fact, Feat.]
The collective body of persons who live in one house, and under one head or manager; a household, including parents, children, and servants, and, as the case may be, lodgers or boarders.
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The group comprising a husband and wife and their dependent children, constituting a fundamental unit in the organization of society.
The welfare of the family underlies the welfare of society.
--H. Spencer. -
Those who descend from one common progenitor; a tribe, clan, or race; kindred; house; as, the human family; the family of Abraham; the father of a family.
Go ! and pretend your family is young.
--Pope. Course of descent; genealogy; line of ancestors; lineage.
Honorable descent; noble or respectable stock; as, a man of family.
A group of kindred or closely related individuals; as, a family of languages; a family of States; the chlorine family.
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(Biol.) A group of organisms, either animal or vegetable, related by certain points of resemblance in structure or development, more comprehensive than a genus, because it is usually based on fewer or less pronounced points of likeness. In zo["o]logy a family is less comprehesive than an order; in botany it is often considered the same thing as an order. Family circle. See under Circle. Family man.
A man who has a family; esp., one who has a wife and children living with him and dependent upon him.
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A man of domestic habits. ``The Jews are generally, when married, most exemplary family men.''
--Mayhew.Family of curves or Family of surfaces (Geom.), a group of curves or surfaces derived from a single equation.
In a family way, like one belonging to the family. ``Why don't we ask him and his ladies to come over in a family way, and dine with some other plain country gentlefolks?''
--Thackeray.In the family way, pregnant. [Colloq. euphemism]
Circle \Cir"cle\ (s[~e]r"k'l), n. [OE. cercle, F. cercle, fr. L. circulus (Whence also AS. circul), dim. of circus circle, akin to Gr. kri`kos, ki`rkos, circle, ring. Cf. Circus, Circum-.]
A plane figure, bounded by a single curve line called its circumference, every part of which is equally distant from a point within it, called the center.
The line that bounds such a figure; a circumference; a ring.
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(Astron.) An instrument of observation, the graduated limb of which consists of an entire circle.
Note: When it is fixed to a wall in an observatory, it is called a mural circle; when mounted with a telescope on an axis and in Y's, in the plane of the meridian, a meridian circle or transit circle; when involving the principle of reflection, like the sextant, a reflecting circle; and when that of repeating an angle several times continuously along the graduated limb, a repeating circle.
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A round body; a sphere; an orb.
It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth.
--Is. xi. 22. -
Compass; circuit; inclosure.
In the circle of this forest.
--Shak. -
A company assembled, or conceived to assemble, about a central point of interest, or bound by a common tie; a class or division of society; a coterie; a set.
As his name gradually became known, the circle of his acquaintance widened.
--Macaulay. A circular group of persons; a ring.
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A series ending where it begins, and repeating itself.
Thus in a circle runs the peasant's pain.
--Dryden. -
(Logic) A form of argument in which two or more unproved statements are used to prove each other; inconclusive reasoning.
That heavy bodies descend by gravity; and, again, that gravity is a quality whereby a heavy body descends, is an impertinent circle and teaches nothing.
--Glanvill. -
Indirect form of words; circumlocution. [R.]
Has he given the lie, In circle, or oblique, or semicircle.
--J. Fletcher. -
A territorial division or district. Note: The Circles of the Holy Roman Empire, ten in number, were those principalities or provinces which had seats in the German Diet. Azimuth circle. See under Azimuth. Circle of altitude (Astron.), a circle parallel to the horizon, having its pole in the zenith; an almucantar. Circle of curvature. See Osculating circle of a curve (Below). Circle of declination. See under Declination. Circle of latitude.
(Astron.) A great circle perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic, passing through its poles.
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(Spherical Projection) A small circle of the sphere whose plane is perpendicular to the axis.
Circles of longitude, lesser circles parallel to the ecliptic, diminishing as they recede from it.
Circle of perpetual apparition, at any given place, the boundary of that space around the elevated pole, within which the stars never set. Its distance from the pole is equal to the latitude of the place.
Circle of perpetual occultation, at any given place, the boundary of the space around the depressed pole, within which the stars never rise.
Circle of the sphere, a circle upon the surface of the sphere, called a great circle when its plane passes through the center of the sphere; in all other cases, a small circle.
Diurnal circle. See under Diurnal.
Dress circle, a gallery in a theater, generally the one containing the prominent and more expensive seats.
Druidical circles (Eng. Antiq.), a popular name for certain ancient inclosures formed by rude stones circularly arranged, as at Stonehenge, near Salisbury.
Family circle, a gallery in a theater, usually one containing inexpensive seats.
Horary circles (Dialing), the lines on dials which show the hours.
Osculating circle of a curve (Geom.), the circle which touches the curve at some point in the curve, and close to the point more nearly coincides with the curve than any other circle. This circle is used as a measure of the curvature of the curve at the point, and hence is called circle of curvature.
Pitch circle. See under Pitch.
Vertical circle, an azimuth circle.
Voltaic circuit or Voltaic circle. See under Circuit.
To square the circle. See under Square.
Syn: Ring; circlet; compass; circuit; inclosure.
Wiktionary
n. A gallery in a theater, generally one containing inexpensive seats.
WordNet
n. rearmost or uppermost area in the balcony containing the least expensive seats [syn: second balcony, upper balcony, peanut gallery]
Wikipedia
Family Circle is an American home magazine published 15 times a year by Meredith Corporation. It began publication in 1932 as a magazine distributed at supermarkets such as Piggly Wiggly and Safeway. Cowles Magazines and Broadcasting bought the magazine in 1962. The New York Times Company bought the magazine for its woman's magazine division in 1971. The division was sold to Gruner + Jahr in 1994. When Gruner + Jahr decided to exit the US magazine market in 2005, the magazine was sold to the Meredith Corporation.
The magazine is considered one of the " Seven Sisters", a group of seven home-oriented magazines, with the others being Ladies' Home Journal, McCall's, Good Housekeeping, Better Homes and Gardens, Woman's Day, and Redbook.
Family Circle also sponsors the Family Circle Cup in the Family Circle Magazine Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina, a WTA tennis tournament which is the only Tier I clay court tournament in the United States.
In November 2009, Family Circle launched their social network Momster.com for moms of tweens and teens.
Family Circle is a public artwork by American artist Herbert House, located at 2300 6th Street NW on the Howard University campus in Washington, D.C., United States. Family Circle was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! survey in 1994.
Family Circle was a monthly British women's magazine.
The publication was founded in 1964 by International Thomson Publishing and soon became the country's top-selling title, achieving one million sales per issue. This was principally through pioneering a policy of selling copies only through supermarkets. It was joined by a sister title, Living, and numerous spin-off books were published. By 1984, it was still selling 580,000 copies per issue.
In 1986, Prima was launched in the UK and its sales soon overtook those of Family Circle, which also suffered from increased competition from other magazines in supermarkets. In 1988, it was acquired by IPC Media, but sales continued to slump. By 2006, it was selling around 113,000 copies per issue and was closed down.
Usage examples of "family circle".
It however forms one of the most hilariously exciting parlour games for the family circle ever invented.