Familiar spirit

Sorcerers or necormancers, who professed to call up the dead to answer questions, were said to have a "familiar spirit" (Deuteronomy 18:11; 2 Kings 21:6; 2 Chronicles 33:6; Leviticus 19:31; 20:6; Isaiah 8:19; 29:4). Such a person was called by the Hebrews an 'ob, which properly means a leathern bottle; for sorcerers were regarded as vessels containing the inspiring demon. This Hebrew word was equivalent to the pytho of the Greeks, and was used to denote both the person and the spirit which possessed him (Leviticus 20:27; 1 Samuel 28:8; Comp. Acts 16:16). The word "familiar" is from the Latin familiaris, meaning a "household servant," and was intended to express the idea that sorcerers had spirits as their servants ready to obey their commands.

Noah Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language

1. (a.) Of or pertaining to a family; domestic.

2. (a.) Closely acquainted or intimate, as a friend or companion; well versed in, as any subject of study; as, familiar with the Scriptures.

3. (a.) Characterized by, or exhibiting, the manner of an intimate friend; not formal; unconstrained; easy; accessible.

4. (a.) Well known; well understood; common; frequent; as, a familiar illustration.

5. (a.) Improperly acquainted; wrongly intimate.

6. (n.) An intimate; a companion.

7. (n.) An attendant demon or evil spirit.

8. (n.) A confidential officer employed in the service of the tribunal, especially in apprehending and imprisoning the accused.