Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Familiar

Familiar , adjective

[Old English familer, familier, French familier, from Latin familiaris, from familia family. See Family.]

1.
Of or pertaining to a family; domestic.
Familiar feuds. — Byron
2.
Closely acquainted or intimate, as a friend or companion; well versed in, as any subject of study; as, familiar with the Scriptures.
3.
Characterized by, or exhibiting, the manner of an intimate friend; not formal; unconstrained; easy; accessible.
In loose, familiar strains. — Addison
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. — Shakespeare
4.
Well known; well understood; common; frequent; as, a familiar illustration.
That war, or peace, or both at once, may be As things acquainted and familiar to us. — Shakespeare
There is nothing more familiar than this. — Locke
5.
Improperly acquainted; wrongly intimate. — Camden
Collocations (1)
Familiar spirit , a demon or evil spirit supposed to attend at call. — 1 Sam. xxviii. 3, 7-9

Familiar , noun

1.
An intimate; a companion.
All my familiars watched for my halting. — Jer. xx. 10
2.
An attendant demon or evil spirit. — Shakespeare
3.
(Court of Inquisition) A confidential officer employed in the service of the tribunal, especially in apprehending and imprisoning the accused.