familial

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 (“suffix forming adjectives”) (from Latin -ālis, from Proto-Indo-European *-li-). Doublet of familiar.

adj

1. Of or pertaining to a human family.
   Mark had to leave work due to familial obligations.
   Asylums and the Care of the Insane.—Dr. Wille, the director of the recently opened asylum for the Canton of Zurich, at Rheinau, delivered a lecture on this subject to the Swiss Association of Alienists. […] In discussing the mode of providing for the incurable, he refers to the familial system and the agricultural colony. […] Another kind of familial treatment is when under similar circumstances improved patients are discharged from an establishment, but after their discharge they are still more or less looked after in connection with the establishment, and receive superintendence by the authorities, or by organised associations. 1870 April, John Sibbald, “German Psychological Literature”, in Henry Maudsley, John Sibbald, editors, The Journal of Mental Science, volume XVI, number 73 (New Series, number 37), London: Published by authority of the Medico-Psychological Association; J[ohn] & A[ugustus] Churchill, New Burlington Street, published 1871, →OCLC, part III (Quarterly Report on the Progress of Psychological Medicine), page 104
   The Aztec artists strove with rare consistency to depict the gods as shocking. Though anthropomorphically conceived, however, the gods are still not presented to us as comprehensible. They are buried under a plethora of symbols and rendered inanimate by severe and rigid stylization. We are not asked to reply to the majesty of Huitzilopochtli, the sexuality of Tlazolteotl, the largess of Tlaloc, or the familial warmth of Xiuhteuctli. Rather we are placed in front of the grotesque, the absurd, the impossible, even the disgusting, and through these means we are asked to appreciate the nature of the gods. 1979, Burr Cartwright Brundage, “The Quality of the Numinous”, in The Fifth Sun: Aztec Gods, Aztec World (Texas Pan American Series), 1st paperback edition, Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, published 1983, page 64
   In part [Antonio] Conte pulled this off because his manner and his own playing record demand respect. But also he brought back the fun, encouraging a familial atmosphere with barbecues, bottles of wine handed out, and bonding sessions with players and club staff. 13 May 2017, Barney Ronay, “Antonio Conte’s brilliance has turned Chelsea’s pop-up team into champions”, in The Guardian, London, archived from the original on 2017-09-09
2. (taxonomy) Pertaining to a taxon at the rank of family.
   Having milky latex is a familial characteristic of Apocynaceae.
3. Of or pertaining to any grouping of things referred to as a family.
   "Grandfather", "mother", and "brother" are some English familial terms.
   The late Eocene was a fascinating time with respect to community changes among terrestrial organisms. Among the mammals, for example, the greatest worldwide ordinal (26 total) and familial (about 120, plus bats and modern-type whales) diversity occurred. 1973, Jason A. Lillegraven, “Terrestrial Eocene Vertebrates from San Diego County, California”, in Arnold Ross, Robert J. Dowlen, editors, Studies on the Geology and Geologic Hazards of the Greater San Diego Area, California: A Guidebook Prepared for the May 1973 Field Trip of the San Diego Association of Geologists and the Association of Engineering Geologists, San Diego, Calif.: Published and distributed by the San Diego Association of Geologists, →OCLC, page 27, column 1
   As emphasized previously, any particular character varies enormously from group to group in its taxonomic value, and it is quite impossible to predict this value in a group in which that character has not been previously investigated. Stamen number, for example, can be a familial, generic or specific character, or vary greatly within one taxon. The same is true of dioecism, equally so in the bryophytes and flowering plants. 1991, Clive A[nthony] Stace, “Structural Information”, in Plant Taxonomy and Biosystematics, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, published 2000, section 2 (Sources of Taxonomic Information), page 83
4. (pathology) Inherited.
   fatal familial insomnia
   Cerebral CMs cavernous malformations] are, for the majority of cases, sporadic lesions. However, familial incidences have been documented for quite some time. In 1928, Kufs reported two cases: an 81-year-old man who presented with "multiple intercranial nodular telangiectases," and his daughter, suspected of harboring a lesion in the pons. 1993, Frank P. K. Hsu, Daniele Rigamonti, Stephen L. Huhn, “Epidemiology of Cavernous Malformations”, in Issam A. Awad, Daniel L. Barrow, editors, Cavernous Malformations, Park Ridge, Ill.: American Association of Neurological Surgeons, page 15, column 2
   Familial history of cerebral aneurysms in several families has been reported. […] To determine whether familial history is a risk factor, [Wouter] Schievink et al conducted a community-based study of familial aneurysmal SAH subarachnoid hemorrhage]. 1997, James C. Torner, Patricia H. Davis, “Epidemiology and Clinical Manifestations of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage”, in Joshua B. Bederson, editor, Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: Pathophysiology and Management (Neurosurgical Topics), Park Ridge, Ill.: American Association of Neurological Surgeons, page 12, column 2