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father

 - 5 dictionary results

fa⋅ther

  [fah-ther]
–noun
1. a male parent.
2. a father-in-law, stepfather, or adoptive father.
3. any male ancestor, esp. the founder of a race, family, or line; progenitor.
4. a man who exercises paternal care over other persons; paternal protector or provider: a father to the poor.
5. a person who has originated or established something: the father of modern psychology; the founding fathers.
6. a precursor, prototype, or early form: The horseless carriage was the father of the modern automobile.
7. one of the leading men in a city, town, etc.: a scandal involving several of the city fathers.
8. Chiefly British. the oldest member of a society, profession, etc. Compare dean 1 (def. 3).
9. a priest.
10. (initial capital letter) Theology. the Supreme Being and Creator; God.
11. a title of respect for an elderly man.
12. the Father, Theology. the first person of the Trinity.
13. 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.
14. Ecclesiastical.
a. (often initial capital letter) a title of reverence, as for church dignitaries, officers of monasteries, monks, confessors, and esp. priests.
b. a person bearing this title.
15. fathers, Roman History. conscript fathers.
–verb (used with object)
16. to beget.
17. to be the creator, founder, or author of; originate.
18. to act as a father toward.
19. to acknowledge oneself the father of.
20. to assume as one's own; take the responsibility of.
21. to charge with the begetting of.
–verb (used without object)
22. to perform the tasks or duties of a male parent; act paternally: Somehow he was able to write a book while fathering.
Use father in a Sentence
Origin:
bef. 900; ME fader, OE fæder; c. G Vater, L pater, Gk patr, Skt pitar, OIr athir, Armenian hayr

Related forms:
fa⋅ther⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To father
fa·ther   (fä'thər)   
n.  

    1. A male person whose sperm unites with an egg, resulting in the conception of a child.

    2. A man who adopts a child.

    3. A man who raises a child.

    4. God.

    5. The first person of the Christian Trinity.

    6. A priest or clergyman in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches.

    7. Used as a title and form of address with or without the clergyman's name.

  2. A male parent of an animal.

  3. A male ancestor.

  4. A man who creates, originates, or founds something: Chaucer is considered the father of English poetry.

  5. An early form; a prototype.

  6. Father Christianity

    1. God.

    2. The first person of the Christian Trinity.

    3. A priest or clergyman in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches.

    4. Used as a title and form of address with or without the clergyman's name.

  7. An elderly or venerable man. Used as a title of respect.

  8. A member of the senate in ancient Rome.

  9. One of the leading men, as of a city: the town fathers.

  10. or Father A church father.

  11. Abbr. Fr.

    1. A priest or clergyman in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches.

    2. Used as a title and form of address with or without the clergyman's name.

v.   fa·thered, fa·ther·ing, fa·thers

v.   tr.

  1. To procreate (offspring) as the male parent.

  2. To act or serve as a father to (a child).

  3. To create, found, or originate.

  4. To acknowledge responsibility for.

    1. To attribute the paternity, creation, or origin of.

    2. To assign falsely or unjustly; foist.

v.   intr.
To act or serve as a father.

[Middle English fader, from Old English fæder; see pəter- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

father  (n.)
O.E. fæder, from P.Gmc. *fader (cf. O.N. faðir, Ger. vater), from PIE *p@ter (cf. Skt. pitar-, Gk. pater, L. pater, O.Pers. pita, O.Ir. athir "father"), presumably from baby-speak sound like pa. The classic example of Grimm's Law, where PIE "p-" becomes Gmc. "f-." Spelling with -th- (16c.) reflects widespread phonetic shift in M.E. that turned -der to -ther in many words; spelling caught up to pronunciation in 1500s (cf. burden, murder). Fatherland (1623) is usually a loan-transl. of Ger. Vaterland, itself a loan-transl. of L. patria (terra), lit. "father's land." Father's Day dates back to 1910 in Spokane, Wash., but was not widespread until 1943, in imitation of Mother's Day.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Bible Dictionary

Father

a name applied (1) to any ancestor (Deut. 1:11; 1 Kings 15:11; Matt. 3:9; 23:30, etc.); and (2) as a title of respect to a chief, ruler, or elder, etc. (Judg. 17:10; 18:19; 1 Sam. 10:12; 2 Kings 2:12; Matt. 23:9, etc.). (3) The author or beginner of anything is also so called; e.g., Jabal and Jubal (Gen. 4:20, 21; comp. Job 38:28). Applied to God (Ex. 4:22; Deut. 32:6; 2 Sam. 7:14; Ps. 89:27, 28, etc.). (1.) As denoting his covenant relation to the Jews (Jer. 31:9; Isa. 63:16; 64:8; John 8:41, etc.). (2.) Believers are called God's "sons" (John 1:12; Rom. 8:16; Matt. 6:4, 8, 15, 18; 10:20, 29). They also call him "Father" (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:4)

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Idioms & Phrases

father

see like father, like son.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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