familiarity

[fuh-mil-ee-ar-i-tee, -mil-yar-]

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noun, plural fa·mil·i·ar·i·ties.

thorough knowledge or mastery of a thing, subject, etc.

the state of being familiar; friendly relationship; close acquaintance; intimacy.

an absence of ceremony and formality; informality.

freedom of behavior justified only by the closest relationship; undue intimacy.

Often familiarities. an instance of such freedom, as in action or speech.

a sexual liberty or impropriety.

Origin of familiarity

1350–1400; Middle English familiarite (< Anglo-French) < Latin familiāritās intimacy. See familiar, -ity

Related formso·ver·fa·mil·i·ar·i·ty, nounpre·fa·mil·i·ar·i·ty, noun

Synonyms for familiarity

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3. unconstraint. 4. liberty, freedom, license.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for familiarity

boldness, intimacy, closeness, freshness, understanding, knowledge, awareness, sense, presumption, acquaintance, fellowship, freedom, ease, forwardness, liberty, sociability, naturalness, openness, friendship, informality

Examples from the Web for familiarity

Contemporary Examples of familiarity

And there is definitely something to finding solace in food, familiarity, and memory.
Everyone at This Dinner Party Has Lost Someone
Samantha Levine
January 6, 2015
Talking about death is never easy, but with food, comfort, and familiarity, a new kind of dinner party is making it easier.
Everyone at This Dinner Party Has Lost Someone
Samantha Levine
January 6, 2015
Living in a society openly governed by force with those who have demonstrated their familiarity with it increases the danger.
A Million Ways to Die in Prison
Daniel Genis
December 8, 2014
Familiarity with search-engines helps, a strange quirk of working in this retro medium.
Blurred Lines at NY Sketchbook Museum
Daniel Genis
November 1, 2014
The difference is one of familiarity and choice not law or logic.
Supreme Court Justices Looked to Personal Views Rather Than Legal Arguments for Hobby Lobby Decision
Eric Segall
July 1, 2014

Historical Examples of familiarity

There was no familiarity of manner there; the clerks liked him, but they had to defer to him and obey him.
The Channings
Mrs. Henry Wood
And his carelessness might have been due to the familiarity of the trail to the pool.
White Fang
Jack London
Just a touch of familiarity was the sole indication that we were not grown men.
Wilfrid Cumbermede
George MacDonald
I had often called her by her Christian name, but she had never accepted the familiarity.
Wilfrid Cumbermede
George MacDonald
In order to prove this, let us consider the evils produced by this familiarity.
The History of Louisiana
Le Page Du Pratz

British Dictionary definitions for familiarity

familiarity

noun plural -ties

reasonable knowledge or acquaintance, as with a subject or place

close acquaintanceship or intimacy

undue intimacy

(sometimes plural) an instance of unwarranted intimacy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for familiarity

c.1200, from Old French familiarite and directly from Latin familiaritatem (nominative familiaritas) "intimacy, friendship," from familiaris "friendly, intimate" (see familiar). Meaning "undue intimacy" is from late 14c. That of "close acquaintance" is from c.1600.