family-size
Meaning
Large enough to serve or supply a family
Structure
Usage
We bought a family-size bag of potato chips for the road trip.
This detergent is only available in family-size containers.
The restaurant offers a family-size pizza that can feed up to six people.
Etymology
The compound "family-size" is a modern English formation, combining two nouns to create an attributive adjective. The first element, "family," traces its lineage to the Latin familia, which originally denoted the servants and dependents of a household, later expanding to its core modern meaning of a kin group. The second element, "size," originates from the Old French legal term assise, meaning an ordinance or a fixed standard, which evolved to signify dimensions or magnitude. When fused, the term "family-size" logically implies a quantity or dimension standardized or deemed appropriate for the consumption or use of a typical family unit, moving from the literal concepts of household and measurement to a specific commercial and descriptive category.
Analysis
- family: From Latin familia (household, servants), from famulus (servant). Functions as a noun used attributively to modify the following element. - size: From Old French sise, a shortened form of assise (session, regulation, standard of measurement). Functions as a noun indicating a degree of magnitude or extent.