definitions

pater

[ pey-ter; also for 2, 3 pat-er ]
/ ˈpeɪ tər; also for 2, 3 ˈpæt ər /
|

noun

British Informal. father.
(often initial capital letter) the paternoster; Lord's Prayer.
a recitation of it.

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RELATED WORDS

fitting, plumb, fondle, hit, form, dab, pet, tip, rub, punch, slap, whittle, beat, stroke, caress, mold, massage, cake, portion, piece

Nearby words

patent rolls, patent still, patentee, patently, patentor, pater, pater patriae, paterfamilias, paternal, paternalism, paternity

Origin of pater

1300–50; Middle English < Latin: father

Definition for pater (2 of 3)

Pater

[ pey-ter ]
/ ˈpeɪ tər /

noun

Walter Horatio,1839–94, English critic, essayist, and novelist.

Definition for pater (3 of 3)

Pater Patriae

[ pah-ter pah-tree-ahy; English pey-ter pey-tree-ee, pat-er pa-tree-ee ]
/ ˈpɑ tɛr ˈpɑ triˌaɪ; English ˈpeɪ tər ˈpeɪ triˌi, ˈpæt ər ˈpæ triˌi /

noun

Latin. father of his country.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pater

British Dictionary definitions for pater (1 of 2)

pater

/ (ˈpeɪtə) /

noun

British mainly facetious a public school slang word for father

Word Origin for pater

from Latin

British Dictionary definitions for pater (2 of 2)

Pater

/ (ˈpeɪtə) /

noun

Walter (Horatio). 1839–94, English essayist and critic, noted for his prose style and his advocation of the "love of art for its own sake". His works include the philosophical romance Marius the Epicurean (1885), Studies in the History of the Renaissance (1873), and Imaginary Portraits (1887)
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