families

n. group of persons who are related by blood; group of things which are related; plants or animals of the same genera

Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis. Modern classification has its root in the work of Carolus Linnaeus, who grouped species according to shared physical characteristics. These groupings since have been revised to improve consistency with the Darwinian principle of common descent. Molecular systematics, which uses DNA sequences as data, has driven many recent revisions and is likely to continue to do so. Scientific classification belongs to the science of taxonomy or biological systematics.
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Noun
1. a social unit living together; "he moved his family to Virginia"; "It was a good Christian household"; "I waited until the whole house was asleep"; "the teacher asked how many people made up his home"
(synonym) household, house, home, menage
(hypernym) unit, social unit
(hyponym) nuclear family, conjugal family
2. primary social group; parents and children; "he wanted to have a good job before starting a family"
(synonym) family unit
(hypernym) kin, kin group, kinship group, kindred, clan, tribe
(hyponym) couple, mates, match
(member-meronym) child, kid
3. people descended from a common ancestor; "his family has lived in Massachusetts since the Mayflower"
(synonym) family line, folk, kinfolk, kinsfolk, sept, phratry
(hypernym) lineage, line, line of descent, descent, bloodline, blood line, blood, pedigree, ancestry, origin, parentage, stemma, stock
(hyponym) people
4. a collection of things sharing a common attribute; "there are two classes of detergents"
(synonym) class, category
(hypernym) collection, aggregation, accumulation, assemblage
(hyponym) Larvacea, class Larvacea
(member-meronym) superphylum
5. an association of people who share common beliefs or activities; "the message was addressed not just to employees but to every member of the company family"; "the church welcomed new members into its fellowship"
(synonym) fellowship
(hypernym) association
(hyponym) koinonia
6. (biology) a taxonomic group containing one or more genera; "sharks belong to the fish family"
(hypernym) taxonomic group, taxonomic category, taxon
(hyponym) Filoviridae
(member-holonym) order
(member-meronym) Bunyaviridae
(classification) biology, biological science
7. a person having kinship with another or others; "he's kin"; "he's family"
(synonym) kin, kinsperson
(hypernym) relative, relation
(hyponym) affine
8. a loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized criminal activities
(synonym) syndicate, crime syndicate, mob
(hypernym) organized crime, gangland, gangdom
(hyponym) Mafia, Maffia, Cosa Nostra

n. family, kin, relatives; group of persons who are related by blood

Family life is given particular attention by the EU in its efforts toward closer cooperation between Member States in civil litigation; in particular, measures are directed at mutual recognition of decisions on family break-up and child protection. (See Judicial-civil : Parental responsibility)