housefather

[ hous-fah-th er ]

/ ˈhaʊsˌfɑ ðər /

noun

a man responsible for a group of young people, as students, living in a dormitory, hostel, etc.

Nearby words

houseclean, housecleaning, housecoat, housed string, housedress, housefather, housefly, houseful, houseguest, household, household ammonia

Origin of housefather

1545–55; house + father; compare Latin paterfamilias

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for housefather

Blood relationship, family, and the rulership of the housefather are in this early period the base and centre of social order.
Women of the Teutonic Nations|Hermann Schoenfeld
“Nothing warm in the house,” said the housefather, a carpenter himself.
A Tramp's Wallet|William Duthie
Go only to Father Balthazar, housefather, and see if he doth not call it a sending of a lamb among wolves.
The Dove in the Eagle's Nest|Charlotte M. Yonge

British Dictionary definitions for housefather

housefather

/ (ˈhaʊsˌfɑːðə) /

noun

a man in charge of the welfare of a particular group of children in an institution such as a children's home or approved school

Derived Forms

housemother, fem n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012