<B>falter, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to not go straight; lose courage; draw back or hesitate; waver. <BR> <I>Ex. The soldiers faltered for a moment as their captain fell.</I> (SYN) vacillate, flinch. <DD><B> 2. </B>to become unsteady in movement; stumble; totter. <BR> <I>Ex. The old man faltered up the path.</I> (SYN) stagger, tremble. <DD><B> 3. </B>to come forth in hesitating, broken sounds. <BR> <I>Ex. The child's voice faltered as she described her fall from the bicycle.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to speak in hesitating or broken words; stammer. <BR> <I>Ex. Greatly embarrassed, he faltered out his thanks.</I> (SYN) stutter. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>an act of faltering. <DD><B> 2. </B>a faltering sound. noun <B>falterer.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="faltering">
<B>faltering, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that falters. <BR> <I>Ex. a faltering hand.</I> adv. <B>falteringly.</B> </DL>
<B>fame, </B>noun, verb, <B>famed,</B> <B>faming.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a having much said or written about one; being very well known. <BR> <I>Ex. the fame of George Washington.</I> (SYN) notoriety, celebrity, renown, eminence. <DD><B> 2. </B>what is said about one; reputation. <BR> <I>Ex. Success is in the silences Though fame is in the song (Bliss Carman).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Archaic.) <DD><B> a. </B>public report; common talk. <BR> <I>Ex. The fame ... was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come (Genesis 45:16).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a rumor. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to spread the fame of. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Archaic.) to tell or spread abroad. </DL>
<A NAME="famed">
<B>famed, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> made famous; celebrated; well-known. <BR> <I>Ex. Ay, this is the famed rock, which Hercules and Goth and Moor bequeathed us. At this door England stands sentry (Wilfred Scawen Blunt).</I> (SYN) renowned. </DL>
<A NAME="fameuse">
<B>Fameuse, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a variety of red apple ripening in the late autumn; snow apple. </DL>
<A NAME="familial">
<B>familial, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of or characteristic of a family. <DD><B> 2. </B>genetically transmitted. <BR> <I>Ex. The familial jauntiness appeared in every generation.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="familiar">
<B>familiar, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>known from constant association; well-known. <BR> <I>Ex. a familiar face. French is as familiar to him as English.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>of everyday use; common; ordinary. <BR> <I>Ex. A knife is a familiar tool.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>well-acquainted. <BR> <I>Ex. He is familiarwith French and English.</I> (SYN) conversant, versed. <DD><B> 4. </B>close; personal; intimate. <BR> <I>Ex. Those familiar friends know each other very well.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>not formal; friendly. <BR> <I>Ex. a familiar attitude.</I> (SYN) unceremonious, informal, easy. <DD><B> 6. </B>too friendly; presuming; forward. <BR> <I>Ex. It is considered to be too familiar for a pupil to call his teacher by her first name.</I> <DD><B> 7. </B>(of animals) domesticated; tame. <DD><B> 8. </B>(Archaic.) of or having to do with one's family or household. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a familiar friend or acquaintance. <BR> <I>Ex. Labor's staunch old familiars ranged out onto the hustings last week to address a country which seemed to be basking in a kind of prosperous complacency (Time).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a spirit or demon supposed to serve a particular person. A black cat was thought to be a witch's familiar. <DD><B> 3. </B>a person who belongs to the household of a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church and renders domestic, though not menial, service. <DD><B> 4. </B>an officer of the Inquisition whose chief duty was to arrest the accused or suspected. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Obsolete.) a member of a person's family or household. adv. <B>familiarly.</B> noun <B>familiarness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="familiarity">
<B>familiarity, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>close acquaintance; knowledge. <BR> <I>Ex. The Indian scout's familiarity with the rugged countryside was helpful to the explorers.</I> (SYN) intimacy, friendship, fellowship. <DD><B> 2. </B>a thing done or said in a familiar way. <BR> <I>Ex. She dislikes such familiarities as the use of her first name by people she has just met.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>freedom of behavior suitable only to friends; lack of formality or ceremony. (SYN) informality. </DL>
<A NAME="familiarize">
<B>familiarize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to make (a person) well acquainted with something. <BR> <I>Ex. Before playing the new game, familiarize yourself with the rules.</I> (SYN) accustom. <DD><B> 2. </B>to make well known; bring into common knowledge or use. <BR> <I>Ex. Exploration in space has familiarized the word "astronaut."</I> (SYN) popularize. <DD><B> 3. </B>to habituate. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Archaic.) to make familiar; divest of strangeness. noun <B>familiarization.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="familiarspirit">
<B>familiar spirit,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a demon or spirit supposed to serve a particular person; familiar. </DL>
<A NAME="familism">
<B>familism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the feeling existing between members of a family; fraternity. </DL>
<A NAME="familistic">
<B>familistic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or characteristic of a family or familism. <BR> <I>Ex. familistic loyalties.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="famillederobe">
<B>famille de robe,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a lawyer's family. <BR> <I>Ex. He belongs to a respectable famille de robe.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(literally) family of the robe (the legal profession). </DL>
<A NAME="family">
<B>family, </B>noun, pl. <B>-lies,</B> adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a father, mother, and their children, as a group. <BR> <I>Ex. Our town has about a thousand families.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the children of a father and mother; offspring. <BR> <I>Ex. They have a family of three boys and two girls.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a group of people living in the same house or under one head, including parents, children, relatives, and servants; household. <DD><B> 4. </B>all of a person's relatives. <BR> <I>Ex. After many years the man's wife finally met all of his family.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>a group of related people; tribe or clan; race. <BR> <I>Ex. The Roosevelt family produced two Presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>(Especially British.) good or noble descent; descent. <BR> <I>Ex. They are people of family.</I> (SYN) ancestry, stock, lineage. <DD><B> 7. </B>a group of related animals or plants. Lions, tigers, and leopards belong to the cat family. A family ranks below an order and above a genus. In zoology, the names of families end in <I>-idae,</I> for example <I>Felidae,</I> the cat family; in botany, the names of families usually end in <I>-aceae,</I> for example <I>Rosaceae,</I> the rose family. <DD><B> 8. </B>any group of related or similar things. <BR> <I>Ex. We all belong to the human family.</I> <DD><B> 9. </B>a group of genetically related languages. <BR> <I>Ex. Linguists customarily divide the languages of the world into stocks or families (Beals and Hoijer).</I> <DD><B> 10. </B>(Chemistry.) a group of elements having similar properties. <DD><B> 11. </B>(Geometry.) a group of related curves or surfaces. <DD><B> 12. </B>a unit of the Mafia, operating in a geographical area. <BR> <I>Ex. A Mafia family is a group of individuals who are not necessarily blood relations (New York Times).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or having to do with the family or household; domestic. <BR> <I>Ex. family life.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>belonging to or shared by a whole family. <BR> <I>Ex. the family car.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>in the family way,</B> </I>pregnant. <BR> <I>Ex. The wives will have a fine easy time when they are in the family way (Benjamin Jowett).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="familyallowance">
<B>family allowance,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an allowance paid to a worker or person in the military service on the basis of the number of dependents in his family, usually to cover living expenses overseas. <DD><B> 2. </B>(in Great Britain and Canada) a subsidy paid periodically by the government to parents for each of their children under a stipulated age. </DL>
<A NAME="familybible">
<B>family Bible,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large copy of the Bible for use at family prayers, often containing a register in which family events, especially the births of children, can be recorded. </DL>
<A NAME="familycircle">
<B>family circle,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the adults and children in a particular household, thought of as sharing certain customs, pleasures, and experiences. <BR> <I>Ex. I was welcomed to the family circle.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=circle </B>(def. 6). </DL>
<A NAME="familycourt">
<B>family court,</B> =court of domestic relations.</DL>
<A NAME="familydoctor">
<B>family doctor,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a general practitioner who is the doctor for all the members of a family. </DL>
<A NAME="familyish">
<B>familyish, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>displaying strong family ties; closely united. <BR> <I>Ex. They're a very familyish sort of family (Harper's).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>having a domestic atmosphere. <BR> <I>Ex. a familyish hotel.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="familyleave">
<B>family leave,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a leave of absence given to an employee because of illness or some other problem in the family. <BR> <I>Ex. Three states, Connecticut, Wisconsin, and Maine, allow family leave as well as extended medical leave for employees (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="familyman">
<B>family man,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a man with a family. <DD><B> 2. </B>a man who enjoys domestic life and strives to fulfill his domestic obligations. <BR> <I>Ex. Vincent had reformed, is now a steady worker, a family man (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="familymedicine">
<B>family medicine,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> general practice medicine for families and individuals. </DL>
<A NAME="familyname">
<B>family name,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the name of all the members of a certain family; surname. In America and Europe, Africa, and large parts of Asia, it is one's last name, but in some other societies, such as Chinese, the family name comes first. <BR> <I>Ex. The boy's given name is John; his family name is Smith.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="familyplanner">
<B>family planner,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a person who advocates or actively promotes family planning. </DL>
<A NAME="familyplanning">
<B>family planning,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> regulation or limitation of the size of a family by birth control; planned parenthood. </DL>
