Mann 1

Your essay must focus on your personal definition of family and proving what the significance or effect of your definition is.
More specifically, you have two major goals for this essay

  • First, you must establish your own definition of the word “family” by comparing and contrasting your definition to the word’s etymology, modern definitions for this word, or other definitions (religious, cultural, etc.).
  • Second, once you establish what your definition of “family” is and show how it borrows or differs from other existing definitions (and why), then you must explain why your definition is significant and/or how your definition impacts society.
  • To help start your paper, you must have an introduction that leads into your topic. Your introduction MUST end with your clear thesis statement that
  • 1) names the definition sources to which you will compare your own definition;
  • 2) clearly states your definition
  • 3) indicates the social impact or importance of your definition.

After your thesis statement you should begin by having several paragraphs that each compare your own definition to another definition (one per paragraph), explaining what parts of that definition you kept or discarded and WHY.

Then, after you have compared / contrasted all definitions you will use to your own definition, include one or more paragraphs that discuss the societal significance / impact of your definition.

All works cited/citations must be in MLA format.

Be sure there are inline citations where necessary.

Write a 1,500–1,700 word extended definition essay

Purpose: To make a point about how the meaning of the word has evolved to follow historical, social, and cultural changes over time.

Methods: To use at least three secondary sources to support your extended definition of the term you choose, including 1. An etymological dictionary 2. A standard or traditional dictionary

The Word Family – Yesterday and Today

What is a “family”? Statistically, it is no longer a mother, a father and their biological children living together under one roof (and certainly not with Dad going off to work and Mom staying home). Although perception and acceptance often lag behind reality, there is evidence that a new definition of family — while far from universally accepted — is emergingAs defined by Merriam-Webster the simple historical definition of the word family is a group of people who are related to each other. Further broad definitions of the word take on many meanings such as agroup consisting of parents and children living together in a household; a group of people related to one another by blood or marriage or the children of a couple. The definition of the word family has changed for me over the years from that simple historical definition to now where I would define family as my partner and my dog. My definition of family defines and influences the way I live my daily life, the decisions that I made and the joy or happiness that I experience. This definition of family can be applied to many facets of our society today that doesn’t fit the original definition of the term.

Defining family as a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household still applies in many places today but it is a very narrow definition. Simply living together in a household consisting of parents and children does not necessarily mean that they act, function or feel like a family. There are many cases where this type of living arrangement has littleSimply living together as a group may not Many words did not originate from the English language. They come, instead, from the languages of other countries, some modern, some older – Germany, France, Rome, and Egypt to name just a few possible origin points. According to Corrine McCarthy, a Professor of Linguistics at Georgy Mason University, the English language was created from over a hundred different languages. Dr. McCarthy states that there are several ways in which words have been adapted.

One method by which this occurs is the formation of an acronym which becomes so popularly used, it begins to be used as a word in and of itself. Acronyms are formed by putting together the first letters of each word of a given phrase. Radar (RAdio Detection And Ranging) and Scuba (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) are examples of this. More recent examples of acronyms that have come into everyday use would be text-speak such as LOL (laugh out loud) and TTYL (talk to you later.) Another method is known as “back-formation.” This occurs when a part of the word, sometimes the prefix or suffix, other times a simple morpheme, is removed and a new word is formed. One example of this would be the formation of the word “burgle” from the word “burglar.” Another such example can be found when a word is taken and a prefix or suffix is replaced with a different one to form a new word such as “recombulation” - to become organized, being formed from “discombobulate.”

The word “family” falls into the category of words that have been adapted from another language. Interestingly enough, in the reworking of the word from its language(s) of origin into English, the actual meaning has changed somewhat. Most experts researched by this writer agreed that, most likely, the word “family” was adapted from the Latin word “familia,” which meant “family servants, domestics collectively, the servants in a household” as well as “members of a household, the estate, property; the household including relatives and servants,” and also from a word of unknown origin, “familus” which meant “servant, or slave.” Other possible origins are the Latin words “famulanter,” meaning “in the manner of a servant,” “famulitas,” meaning “servitude,” “familaris,” meaning “of one’s household or private,”familiarcus,” meaning “of household slaves, “ or familiaritas,” “close friendship.” (Online Etymology Dictionary)

As one can clearly see, these meanings are not what we know the word as today. The original Latin word with that meaning – “parents with their children” – was “domus,” which eventually became “domestic.” Use of the word “family” with a meaning somewhat closer to what we think of today, did not begin until the 1540s according to Century Dictionary. The word at that time had come to mean “a collective body of persons who form one household under one head and one domestic government, including parents, children, and servants and sometimes even lodgers or boarders.” By 1580, the meaning of the word “family” had become “those who descend from a common progenitor, a house, a lineage” as well as “any group of things classed as kindred based on common distinguishing characteristics.” By the 1660’s the meaning had morphed again, to “parents with their children, whether they dwell together or not” and extended to mean “persons closely related by blood, including aunts, uncles, and cousins.” The scientific meaning of “family” as “a classification between genus and order” was also coming into play. (Online Etymology Dictionary)

Today, the word “family” has several different meanings. According to the Merriam – Webster Dictionary, there are eight.

  1. A group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head
  2. (A) A group of persons of common ancestry; clan (B) A people or group of peoples regarded as deriving from a common stock
  3. (A) A group of people united by certain convictions or a common goal (B) The staff of a high official – as the President
  4. A group of things related by common characteristics as: (A) a closely related series of elements or chemical compounds (B) a group of soils with similar chemical and physical properties (as texture, ph., and mineral content) that comprise a category ranking above the series and below the subgroup in soil classification (C) A group of related languages descended from a single ancestral language
  5. (A) The basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children; also : any of various social units differing from but regarded as equivalent to the traditional family <a single-parent family> (B) Spouse and children
  6. (A) A group of related plants or animals forming a category ranking above a genus and below an order and usually comprising several to many gerera (B) In livestock breeding (1) The descendants or line of a particular individual especially of some outstanding female (2) An identifiable strain within a breed
  7. A set of curves or surfaces whose equations differ only in parameters
  8. A unit of a crime syndicate (as the Mafia) operating within a geographical area (Merriam Webster )

For most, the first two definitions of “family” meaning parents, children and close relatives who have a common ancestry, are what comes to mind when “family” is mentioned. According to Dr. Murray Bessette, or Morehead University, this definition of the word brings with an inherent connotation of insular “unity” within a larger society. He tells us that, in modern use, the trajectory of “family” as it is popularly defined, begins with marriage or partnership, continues through the acquisition of common familial property and the having and bringing up of children and culminates either with the dissolution of the family bond in some way or with the death of a partner. He posits that the formation of families is not presupposed by the existence of a society, but is such a strong instinct that it “presupposes the existence of society and points even beyond itself” and would come to be even its absence. (Bessette)

Bessette describes “family” as being made up of four concentric circles at the center of which is the individual. At first, the “family” is very insular, very close in relation. The inner circle is made up of immediate family; the spouse, children, siblings, and parents. Further out, the circle grows looser, the focus less defined. Here you have an extension of the inner “family.” This level consists of one’s friends and acquaintances from various walks of life; school, church, work, etc. Anyone, of any age, who is considered a peer is included in this circle. The last circle is the societal “family.” Here we have the neighborhood, community, political figures, media, and governing bodies. The final circle, the one that encompasses them all, is made up of our history. It is here that our ancestral family, as far back as can be seen, resides.

The definition of “family” originally was quite narrow and has expanded greatly over the years. Major influences in society have also had a negative impact on how a family is defined or thought of. An example often cited is so-called reality television. These shows that are supposed to reflect the reality of life are very often scripted for theatrics and shock value. This further deteriorates what people believe a family is or should look like.

In conclusion, it is clear that there have been radical changes in the way people think of or define the word family. We have shifted dramatically from the times when family had clearly defined gender roles; men as the wage earners and head of household while women were typically stay at home moms and took care of the house to a time where the meaning of family now includes everything from the general make up of a household to how businesses are organized. In the future we may see even further evolution of what family means as cultures continue to integrate and new technologies are invented that shape and change our way of life.

Works Cited

Beard, R. Folk Etymology. 2015. <

Bessette, M. "Hegel's Analysis of the Family in Elements of the PHilosophy of Right: An Interpretation." Midwest Political Science (2010): 1-22.

McCarthy, C. Morphology: How are words formed? 2010. <

Merriam Webster . Family. n.d. <

Online Etymology Dictionary. Family. 2016. <

Oxford Dictionaries. How many words are there in the English Language? 2016. <

The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia. Volume Two. New York: Meredith , 1902.