family-n; 8 Senses

Sense Number 1: A current member of a close-knit social group

Commentary:FAMILY[+role][+member][+current][+of_group][+social][+close_knit]
NOTE: implies current, living members - in contrast to genetic ancestral affiliation Sense 3
NOTE: may include biological, marital or other types of social bond

Examples:
He moved his family to Virginia.
The dogs are treated as members of the family.
Don't join that start-up unless you want to be part of a corporate family.
The church welcomed new members into its family.
He wanted to have a good job before starting a family.
Tom's brother and wife have always treated us like family.
He's family, he can sit in on this discussion.
It was a family-operated business.
A family of sparrows is living in a nest on my window ledge. (figurative?)

Mappings:
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 1, 2, 8, 5

Sense Number 2: Placeholder Sense: Do Not Choose

Examples:

Mappings:
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 1

Sense Number 3: biologically related ancestors or descendants

Commentary:FAMILY[+affiliation][+biological][+lineage][+ancestor/+descendant] people descended from a common ancestor
NOTE: includes past generations of members - in contrast to Sense 1

Examples:
The men in his family have all been over six feet tall for generations.
The disease was linked genetically through his mother's family.
He can trace his family back to the Mayflower.

Mappings:
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 4

Sense Number 4: Placeholder Sense: Do Not Choose

Examples:

Mappings:
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 1

Sense Number 5: taxonomic relationship among abstract categories

Commentary:FAMILY[+system][+classification][+taxonomic][+of_categories][+abstract]

Examples:
The white oak is in the family 'Fagaceae'.
We looked at color swatches mostly in the blue family.
That mathematician is studying an interesting family of curved surfaces.
Olive oil is in the family of unsaturated fats.
The Right whale and Bow whale are in the same family.
Mary has studied languages in the Germanic and Slavic families.

Mappings:
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 3, 8

Sense Number 6: Placeholder Sense: Do Not Choose

Examples:

Mappings:
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 1

Sense Number 7: Placeholder Sense: Do Not Choose

Examples:

Mappings:
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 1

Sense Number 8: The mob, gangsters, crime syndicate

Commentary:FAMILY[+organization][+criminal][+close_knit] organized crime
NOTE: a specialized narrow usage of Sense 1

Examples:
The family is known to run the local drug rings.
They are the two major crime families in the city.

Mappings:
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 7