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Webster 1913 Edition

Father

Fa′ther

(fä′thẽr)
,
Noun.
[OE.
fader
, AS.
fæder
; akin to OS.
fadar
, D.
vader
, OHG.
fatar
, G.
vater
, Icel.
faðir
Sw. & Dan.
fader
, OIr.
athir
, L.
pater
, Gr.
πατήρ
, Skr.
pitr
, perh. fr. Skr.
pā
protect. √75, 247. Cf.
Papa
,
Paternal
,
Patriot
,
Potential
,
Pablum
.]
1.
One who has begotten a child, whether son or daughter; a generator; a male parent.
A wise son maketh a glad
father
.
Prov. x. 1.
2.
A male ancestor more remote than a parent; a progenitor; especially, a first ancestor; a founder of a race or family; – in the plural, fathers, ancestors.
David slept with his
fathers
.
1 Kings ii. 10.
Abraham, who is the
father
of us all.
Rom. iv. 16.
3.
One who performs the offices of a parent by maintenance, affetionate care, counsel, or protection.
I was a
father
to the poor.
Job xxix. 16.
He hath made me a
father
to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house.
Gen. xiv. 8.
4.
A respectful mode of address to an old man.
And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him [Elisha], . . . and said, O my
father
, my
father
!
2 Kings xiii. 14.
5.
A senator of ancient Rome.
6.
A dignitary of the church, a superior of a convent, a confessor (called also
father confessor
), or a priest; also, the eldest member of a profession, or of a legislative assembly, etc.
Bless you, good
father
friar !
Shakespeare
7.
One of the chief ecclesiastical authorities of the first centuries after Christ; – often spoken of collectively as the Fathers;
as, the Latin, Greek, or apostolic
Fathers
.
8.
One who, or that which, gives origin; an originator; a producer, author, or contriver; the first to practice any art, profession, or occupation; a distinguished example or teacher.
The
father
of all such as handle the harp and organ.
Gen. iv. 21.
Might be the
father
, Harry, to that thought.
Shakespeare
The
father
of good news.
Shakespeare
9.
The Supreme Being and Creator; God; in theology, the first person in the Trinity.
Our
Father
, which art in heaven.
Matt. vi. 9.
Now had the almighty
Father
from above . . .
Bent down his eye.
Milton.
Adoptive father
,
one who adopts the child of another, treating it as his own.
–
Apostolic father
,
Conscript fathers, etc.
See under
Apostolic
,
Conscript
, etc.
–
Father in God
,
a title given to bishops.
–
Father of lies
,
the Devil.
–
Father of the bar
,
the oldest practitioner at the bar.
–
Fathers of the city
,
the aldermen.
–
Father of the Faithful
.
(a)
Abraham.
Rom. iv.
Gal. iii. 6-9.
(b)
Mohammed, or one of the sultans, his successors.
–
Father of the house
,
the member of a legislative body who has had the longest continuous service.
–
Most Reverend Father in God
,
a title given to archbishops and metropolitans, as to the archbishops of Canterbury and York.
–
Natural father
,
the father of an illegitimate child.
–
Putative father
,
one who is presumed to be the father of an illegitimate child; the supposed father.
–
Spiritual father
.
(a)
A religious teacher or guide, esp. one instrumental in leading a soul to God.
(b)
(R. C. Ch.)
A priest who hears confession in the sacrament of penance.
–
The Holy Father
(R. C. Ch.)
,
the pope.

Fa′ther

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Fathered
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Fathering
.]
1.
To make one’s self the father of; to beget.
Cowards
father
cowards, and base things sire base.
Shakespeare
2.
To take as one's own child; to adopt; hence, to assume as one's own work; to acknowledge one's self author of or responsible for (a statement, policy, etc.).
Men of wit
Often
fathered
what he writ.
Swift.
3.
To provide with a father.
[R.]
Think you I am no stronger than my sex,
Being so
fathered
and so husbanded ?
Shakespeare
To father on
or
To father upon
,
to ascribe to, or charge upon, as one's offspring or work; to put or lay upon as being responsible.
“Nothing can be so uncouth or extravagant, which may not be fathered on some fetch of wit, or some caprice of humor.”
Barrow.

Webster 1828 Edition

Father

F'ATHER

,
Noun.
[L. pater. The primary sense is obvious.]
1.
He who begets a child; in L. genitor or generator.
The father of a fool hath no joy. Prov. 17.
2.
The first ancestor; the progenitor of a race or family. Adam was the father of the human race. Abraham was the father of the Israelites.
3.
The appellation of an old man, and a term of respect.
The king of Israel said to Elisha, my father shall I smite them? 2Kings 6.
The servants of Naaman call him father. Elderly men are called fathers; as the fathers of a town or city. In the church, men venerable for age, learning and piety are called fathers, or reverend fathers.
4.
The grandfather or more remote ancestor. Nebuchadnezzar is called the father of Belshazzar, though he was his grandfather. Dan. 5.

Definition 2024

Father

Father

See also: father

English

Alternative forms

  • Fr. (title given to priests)

Proper noun

Father

  1. (Christianity) God, the father of Creation
  2. A title given to priests.
    Father Thomas was a good priest.
  3. One of the chief ecclesiastical authorities of the first centuries after Christ.
    the Latin, Greek, or apostolic Fathers
  4. One's father.
    I will only do what Father asks.
  5. (Wicca) One of the triune gods of the Horned God in Wicca, representing a man, younger than the elderly Sage and older than the boyish Master.
    • 2002, A. J. Drew, Wicca for Couples: Making Magick Together, page 89
      ...and our Lord as Master, Father, and Sage.
    • 2003, A. J. Drew, Patricia Telesco, God/Goddess: Exploring and Celebrating the Two Sides of Wiccan Deity, page 38
      In respect to our Lord (God), these are the less known Master, Father, and Sage.

Translations

Antonyms

See also

Anagrams

father

father

See also: Father

English

Noun

father ‎(plural fathers)

  1. A (generally human) male who begets a child.
    My father was a strong influence on me.‎
    My friend Tony just became a father.‎
    • Bible, Proverbs x. 1
      A wise son maketh a glad father.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 5, in The Celebrity:
      When this conversation was repeated in detail within the hearing of the young woman in question, and undoubtedly for his benefit, Mr. Trevor threw shame to the winds and scandalized the Misses Brewster then and there by proclaiming his father to have been a country storekeeper.
    • 2010 April 7, Cécile Corbel (lyrics), Cécile Corbel and Simon Caby (music), “My First Borrowing”, in 借りぐらし Kari-gurashi [The Borrowers] (CD), Yamaha Music Communications, performed by Cécile Corbel:
      Father, dear father
      Will you be proud of me?
      I wish I could be
      Just like you.
  2. A male ancestor more remote than a parent; a progenitor; especially, a first ancestor.
    • Bible, 1 Kings ii. 10
      David slept with his fathers.
    • Bible, Rom. iv. 16
      Abraham, who is the father of us all
  3. A term of respectful address for an elderly man.
    Come, father; you can sit here.‎
  4. A term of respectful address for a priest.
    • Shakespeare
      Bless you, good father friar!
  5. A person who plays the role of a father in some way.
    My brother was a father to me after my parents got divorced.‎
    The child is father to the man.‎
    • Bible, Job xxix. 16
      I was a father to the poor.
    • Bible, Genesis xiv. 8
      He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house.
  6. The founder of a discipline or science.
    Albert Einstein is the father of modern physics.‎
  7. A senator of Ancient Rome.

Synonyms

  • (parent): See also Wikisaurus:father

Antonyms

Hypernyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

father ‎(third-person singular simple present fathers, present participle fathering, simple past and past participle fathered)

  1. To be a father to; to sire.
  2. (figuratively) To give rise to.
  3. To act as a father; to support and nurture.
  4. To provide with a father.
    • Shakespeare
      Think you I am no stronger than my sex, / Being so fathered and so husbanded?
  5. To adopt as one's own.
    • Jonathan Swift
      Men of wit / Often fathered what he writ.

Translations

See also

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: side · small · cannot · #224: father · nor · moment · however

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English fader, from Old English fæder, from Proto-Germanic *fadēr (compare West Frisian faar, North Frisian faaðer, Low German Fader, Dutch vader, German Vater, Danish fader), from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr (compare Irish athair, Tocharian A pācar, B pācer, Persian پدر ‎(pedar), Lithuanian patinas ‎(“male animal”), akin to Latin pater, akin to Ancient Greek πατήρ ‎(patḗr), akin to Armenian հայր ‎(hayr), akin to Sanskrit पितृ ‎(pitṛ, “father”).

Pronunciation

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