Hide from attack on small family (8)
I believe the answer is:
goatskin
'hide' is the definition.
(I know that goatskin is a type of hide)
'attack on small family' is the wordplay.
'attack' becomes 'goat' (go at).
'on' says to put letters next to each other (in a down clue, letters appear on others).
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'family' becomes 'kin' (synonyms).
'goat'+'s'+'kin'='GOATSKIN'
'from' is the link.
(Other definitions for goatskin that I've seen before include "Leather - wine holder of old" , "Billy's hide?" , "Type of leather - a song kit (anag)" , "Leather from nanny or billy?" , "Hide Billy or Nanny" .)