subfamily
noun
subfamily is spelled S-U-B-F-A-M-I-L-Y: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,633rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, subfamily means “A taxonomic category ranking between a family and a genus; formerly called a tribe” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of subfamily is subfamilies.
How many letters and syllables are in subfamily?
| Letters | 9: S-U-B-F-A-M-I-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 47,633rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is subfamily?
Subfamily appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,633rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce subfamily?
- US
Subfamily has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-subfamily.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-subfamily.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of subfamily
- subfamilies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does subfamily mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A taxonomic category ranking between a family and a genus; formerly called a tribe.
- 2
A secondary or subordinate grouping.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Subfamily in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense taxonomic category:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sous-famille |
| German | Unterfamilie, Subfamilie |
| Portuguese | subfamília |
| Spanish | subfamilia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does subfamily come from?
From sub- + family.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).