*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of fam

Abbreviations * (family, term of endearment): Clipping of family * (familiarization): Clipping of familiarization

1 source sectionBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

Clipping of family. · A term of endearment between friends; derived from "family" but not used between relatives. · Clipping of familiarization.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Abbreviations * (family, term of endearment): Clipping of family * (familiarization): Clipping of familiarization

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "sense",
      "args": {
        "1": "family",
        "2": "term of endearment"
      },
      "expansion": "(family, term of endearment):"
    },
    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "family"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of family"
    },
    {
      "name": "sense",
      "args": {
        "1": "familiarization"
      },
      "expansion": "(familiarization):"
    },
    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "familiarization"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of familiarization"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "family",
      "family#English"
    ],
    [
      "familiarization",
      "familiarization#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Clipping of family.",
        "A term of endearment between friends; derived from \"family\" but not used between relatives.",
        "Clipping of familiarization."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of",
        "clipping",
        "informal",
        "Internet",
        "Multicultural-London-English",
        "slang",
        "colloquial"
      ],
      "recordId": "1f1aa1f82bab233aa9e67df215463c767911365c15465eec743987f7659e2686",
      "rawRecordSha256": "ad9c53149b121d5937ace27de1d20103dd6e33852c2254fc5909d66fd0469106",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 854105
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for fam →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-ZmFt