father

 
Pronunciation: /ˈfɑːðə/

noun

  • 1a man in relation to his child or children: how like your father you are the art collection was bequeathed to him by his adoptive father
  • a male animal in relation to its offspring.
  • (fathers) literary ancestors.
  • an important male figure in the origin and early history of something: he’s held to be the father of abstract art
  • a man who provides care and protection: the prince is widely regarded as the father of the nation
  • the oldest member or doyen of a society or other body.
  • (the Father) (in Christian belief) the first person of the Trinity; God.
  • (Father) used as a title of respect for an old and venerable man or for something personified as such a man: Father Thames
  • 2 (also Father) (often as a title or form of address) a priest: pray for me, father
  • 3 (Fathers or Fathers of the Church) early Christian theologians (in particular of the first five centuries) whose writings are regarded as especially authoritative.

verb

[with object]
  • be the father of: he fathered three children
  • (usually as noun fathering) treat with the protective care associated with a father: the two males share the fathering of the cubs
  • be the source or originator of: a culture which has fathered half the popular music in the world
  • (father someone/thing on) assign the paternity of a child or responsibility for a book, idea, or action to: a collection of Irish stories was fathered on him

Phrases

how's your father

British informal
used euphemistically to refer to sexual intercourse.
used euphemistically to refer to a penis.

like father, like son

proverb a son’s character or behaviour can be expected to resemble that of his father.

Derivatives

fatherhood

noun

fatherless

adjective

fatherlessness

noun

fatherlike

adjective & adverb

Origin:

Old English fæder, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vader and German Vater, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin pater and Greek patēr