father

[ fah-ther ]

noun

1. a man who begets offspring; a male parent.
2. Often Father. one’s own male parent:

   When we were kids, Father read to us regularly.

   My father is visiting us next week.

3. a father-in-law, stepfather, foster father, male adoptive parent, or male guardian.
4. Usually Father. a term of address for a male parent or a man having or regarded as having the status, function, or authority of a male parent:

   How are you, Father?

5. any male ancestor, especially the founder of a family or line; progenitor.
6. a man providing care or exercising influence or authority like that of a male parent:

   The late professor was a father to all his students.

7. the qualities characteristic of a father, such as paternal affection, protectiveness, responsibility, etc.:

   He had been quite a rake, but his newborn daughter quickly brought out the father in him.

8. a man who has originated or established something:

   Freud is often called the father of modern psychology.

   The founding fathers of America took care to separate church and state.

9. an early form; forerunner or prototype:

   The horseless carriage was the father of the modern automobile.

10. one of the most well-known or prominent men in a city, town, etc.:

    There was a scandal involving several of the city fathers.

11. Chiefly British. the oldest living or serving member of a society, profession, etc. Compare dean ( def 3 ).
12. a title for something personified as an older or elderly man:

    Father Time.

13. a term of familiar address for an old or elderly man.
14. Often the Father. Theology.
    1. the Supreme Being; God.
    2. Christianity. the first person of the Trinity.
15. Also called church father. Church History. any of the chief early Christian writers, whose works are the main sources for the history, doctrines, and observances of the church in the early ages.
16. Ecclesiastical.
    1. Usually Father. a title of reverence, as for church dignitaries, officers of monasteries, monks, confessors, and especially priests.
    2. Often Father. a person bearing this title:

       He is a father in the Catholic church.

17. fathers, Roman History. conscript fathers ( def ).

adjective

1. being a male parent:

   The father penguin rests the egg on his feet and covers it with a fold of warm skin.

verb (used with object)

1. to beget; be the father of:

   He fathered seven children over three marriages.

2. to be the male creator, founder, or author of; originate.
3. to care for or protect like a father; act paternally toward:

   He’s always fathering me and checking the oil in my car.

   After Dad died, my uncle fathered my brother and me.

4. Archaic. to acknowledge oneself the father or originator of:

   He would only father the novel if it became popular.

5. Archaic. to assume as one's own; take the responsibility of.
6. Archaic. to charge someone with the begetting of:

   Do not try to father the boy on me.

verb (used without object)

1. to perform the tasks or duties of a male parent; act paternally:

   He fathers like he’s been doing it for years, though his kid is only three months old.

Father

¹

/ ˈfɑːðə /

noun

1. God, esp when considered as the first person of the Christian Trinity
2. Also calledChurch Father any of the writers on Christian doctrine of the pre-Scholastic period
3. a title used for Christian priests

father

²

/ ˈfɑːðə /

noun

1. a male parent
2. a person who founds a line or family; forefather
3. any male acting in a paternal capacity paternal
4. often capital a respectful term of address for an old man
5. a male who originates something

   the father of modern psychology

6. a leader of an association, council, etc; elder

   a city father

7. the eldest or most senior member in a society, profession, etc

   father of the bar

8. often plural a senator or patrician in ancient Rome
9. the father of informal.
   the father of a very large, severe, etc, example of a specified kind

   the father of a whipping

verb

1. to procreate or generate (offspring); beget
2. to create, found, originate, etc
3. to act as a father to
4. to acknowledge oneself as father or originator of
5. foll byon or upon to impose or place without a just reason

Derived Forms

• ˈfathering, noun

Other Words From

• fa·ther·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of father¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English fader, Old English fæder; cognate with Dutch vader, German Vater, Old Norse fathir; akin to Armenian hayr, Greek patḗr, Irish athair, Latin pater, Persian pedar, Sanskrit pitar-

Word History and Origins

Origin of father¹

Old English fæder ; related to Old Norse fathir , Old Frisian feder , Old High German fater , Latin pater , Greek patēr , Sanskrit pitr

Idioms and Phrases

see like father, like son .

Example Sentences

“I think that Joe Biden will be the person to protect Anthony and those with preexisting conditions,” the father says.

From Washington Post

Six unknowing months before the start of the Great Depression, my father arrived.

From Nautilus

While DeFazio and other lawmakers haven’t called for a permanent grounding of the jet, the father of a woman who died in the Ethiopia crash said the report raised questions about the plane’s return to service.

From Fortune

I have been yelled at basically my entire life, from my father, my family, to high school.

From Fortune

Anthony Mallott said that no one asked his father to resign, and that he did so voluntarily.

From ProPublica

What matters is being honest, humble, and a faithful and loyal friend, father and member of your community.

From The Daily Beast

Father Joel Román Salazar died in a car crash in 2013; his death was ruled an accident, but the suspicion of foul play persists.

From The Daily Beast

Charles “Father” Coughlin, a raving anti-Semite, was one of the most popular radio hosts in the country.

From The Daily Beast

You will have your beloved father back sooner than you think, and you can visit and communicate with him all the while.

From The Daily Beast

“There is a heavy security presence but nothing has changed,” agrees Father Javier.

From The Daily Beast

There was a rumor that Alessandro and his father had both died; but no one knew anything certainly.

From Project Gutenberg

And he was gone, and out of sight on the swift galloping Benito, before Father Gaspara bethought himself.

From Project Gutenberg

At this same time they seized in Nangasaqui a servant of the father provincial, Matheo Couros, who was washing his clothes.

From Project Gutenberg

He wanted to tell her that if she called her father, it would mean the end of everything for them, but he withheld this.

From Project Gutenberg

The Father had been in sore straits of mind, as month after month had passed without tidings of his "blessed child."

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ancestor
• dad
• parent
• predecessor