Editing Nuclear family (section)

== Etymology ==
The term ''nuclear family'' first appeared in the early 20th century. The American dictionary [[Merriam-Webster]] dates the term back to 1924,<ref name=Merriam-Webster>{{Cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nuclear%20family |title=nuclear family |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |website=Merriam-Webster |access-date=October 5, 2020 |quote=First Known Use of ''nuclear family''<br>1924, in the meaning defined above}}</ref> and the British ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' has a reference to the term from 1925; thus the term is relatively new. The phrase is taken from the general use of the noun ''nucleus'', originating in the [[Latin]] {{Lang|la|nux}}, meaning 'nut', i.e. the core of something.{{efn|Any similarity to the terminology of [[nuclear warfare]], [[nuclear power]], [[nuclear fission]] etc. is therefore coincidental, even in spite of its association with the early [[Atomic Age]].}}

In its most common use, the term ''nuclear family'' refers to a household consisting of a [[mother]], a [[father]], and their [[child]]ren,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/nuclear-family?q=nuclear+family |title=Nuclear family - Definition and pronunciation |publisher=Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary |access-date=2021-03-05}}</ref> all living in one household dwelling.<ref name=Merriam-Webster /> [[George Murdock]], an observer of families, offered an early description: {{quote|The family is a social group characterized by common residence, economic cooperation and reproduction. It contains adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved relationship, and one or more children, own or adopted, of the sexually cohabiting adults.<ref>{{cite book |last=Murdock |first=George Peter |orig-year=1949 |year= 1965 |title=Social Structure |url=https://archive.org/details/socialstructuremurdrich |url-access=registration |publisher=Free Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-02-922290-4}}</ref>}}

Many individuals are part of two nuclear families in their lives: the family of origin from which they are offspring, and the family of procreation for which they are a parent.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontofa00coll |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontofa00coll/page/27 27] |title=An Introduction to Family Social Work |first1=Donald |last1=Collins |first2=Catheleen |last2=Jordan |first3=Heather |last3=Coleman |publisher=Cengage Learning |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-495-60188-3 |edition=3}}</ref>

Alternative definitions have evolved to include family units with [[LGBT parenting|same-sex parent]]s,<ref name="BritannicaOnline">{{cite encyclopedia|year=2011|title=Nuclear family|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/421619/nuclear-family|access-date=2011-07-24}}</ref> [[adoption]] of members, and perhaps additional adult relatives who take on a cohabiting parental role.<ref>"Strictly, a nuclear or elementary or conjugal family consists merely of parents and children, though it often includes one or two other relatives as well, for example, a widowed parent or unmarried sibling of one or other spouse."<br />[https://workfamily.sas.upenn.edu/glossary/n/nuclear-family-definitions Sloan Work and Family Research Network], citing Parkin, R. (1997). Kinship: An introduction to basic concepts. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Retrieved April 18, 2012.</ref>