Word · CEFR A2 · Frequency #1635
familiar
使魔；精灵
a spirit, usually in animal form, that acts as an assistant to a witch or wizard
- 1.
An attendant spirit, often in animal or demon form.
常以动物或恶魔形态出现的侍灵
- 2.
a person attached to the household of a high official (as a pope or bishop) who renders service in return for support
为高级官员(如教皇或主教)服务以换取支持的人
- 3.
A member of a pope's or bishop's household.
教皇或主教家庭的成员
- 4.
a friend who is frequently in the company of another
经常在一起的朋友
- 5.
a spirit (usually in animal form) that acts as an assistant to a witch or wizard
作为巫师助手的灵体(通常为动物形态)
密友；至交；（教皇或主教的）家臣；侍从；常以动物或恶魔形态出现的侍灵；为高级官员(如教皇或主教)服务以换取支持的人；教皇或主教家庭的成员
In use
The witch's cat is her familiar, helping her with spells.
In the story, the dog was thought to be the witch's familiar.
The magician's familiar, a frog, would fetch ingredients for potions.
Connections
Collocations
- witch's familiar
- 女巫的使魔
- The witch's familiar, a gray cat, would warn her of danger.女巫的使魔是一只灰猫，会提醒她有危险。
- animal familiar
- 动物形使魔
- The game allows players to choose an animal familiar to accompany their character.这款游戏允许玩家选择一只动物形使魔来陪伴角色。
- faithful familiar
- 忠实的使魔
- Her faithful familiar would not leave her side even after the spell ended.法术结束后，她那忠实的使魔也不愿离开她身边。
- summon a familiar
- 召唤使魔
- She studied for years before she could summon a familiar of her own.她学习了多年，才能召唤属于自己的使魔。
- serve as a familiar
- 充当使魔
- The raven served as a familiar to the village healer.这只乌鸦充当了村里治疗师的使魔。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
联想 family（家人）：像家人一样亲近熟悉的陪伴者，常指巫师身边动物形态的使魔。
Context & Register
语域：formal 常见场景：fantasy novels、historical witchcraft accounts、occult-themed media 此义项多用于文学或奇幻作品，以及谈论历史或神秘学的内容；通常出现在书面或专门语境，日常口语中较少见。
Grammar Note
可数名词；指巫师的助手或高层官员的侍从，常与of连用
Pronunciation & Spelling
No common word rhymes with familiar /fəˈmɪljɚ/. Million /ˈmɪljən/, civilian /səˈvɪljən/, and billiards /ˈbɪljərdz/ share the /ɪlj/ cluster but differ in stress or ending, so they are not true rhymes. Lookalikes family /ˈfæməli/ and famine /ˈfæmɪn/ start with the same spelling 'fam' but have /fæ/, not /fə/; peculiar /pɪˈkjuːljər/ shares the spelled suffix -liar but has a different stressed vowel, so it does not rhyme.
High-value vocabulary
该词属于 Oxford 核心词汇，值得优先掌握常见搭配和句型。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 3，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from DICTIONARY_API_DEV, ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.