father-in-law
Americannoun
plural
fathers-in-lawnoun
Etymology
Origin of father-in-law
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English fader in lawe; see origin at father, in, law 1; from Middle English in-lawe “in law,” i.e., “a person within the regulation and protection of the law,” based on the prohibition by Roman civil law and, later, Christian canon law, of marriages within four degrees of consanguinity, i.e., up to and including first cousins
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One man, Sergei, told Reuters his 83-year-old father in law spent three days in his attic in Oleshky before the water receded and he could come down.
From Reuters • Jun. 13, 2023
"Michael joins me in thanking you all for your overwhelming love, kind words and prayers since the passing of my father in law Kirk," wrote Zeta-Jones in the caption.
From Fox News • Feb. 9, 2020
Rosenberg: You have many fans some of whom know this many of whom I assume do not, but your father in law Bob’s father, was also a judge.
From MSNBC • Oct. 2, 2019
Experienced swimmer Mr Pearson, the managing director of Shropshire building materials firm Jesmonite, had gone to the beach in southern Italy with his wife, two children, his mother and his father in law.
From BBC • Aug. 4, 2017
Moses spent the first forty years of his life in Egypt, the next forty with Jethro his father in law, and the next forty wandering in the wilderness.
From The Woman's Bible by Stanton, Elizabeth Cady
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
