Emily Dickinson Lexicon

FA-MIL'IAR, n.

1. An intimate; a close companion; one long acquainted; one accustomed to another by free, unreserved converse. All my familiars watched for my halting. Jer. xx.
2. A demon or evil spirit supposed to attend at a call. But in general we say, a familiar spirit. Shak.
3. In the court of Inquisition, a person who assists in apprehending and imprisoning the accused. Encyc.