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Webster 1913 Edition

Godfather

God′faˊther

,
Noun.
[AS.
godfæder
. Cf.
Gossip
.]
A man who becomes sponsor for a child at baptism, and makes himself a surety for its Christian training and instruction. Correlative of
godmother
.
There shall be for every Male-child to be baptized, when they can be had, two
Godfathers
and one Godmother; and for every Female, one
Godfather
and two Godmothers; and Parents shall be admitted as Sponsors, if it is desired.
Book of Common Prayer (Prot. Episc. Ch., U. S. ).

God′faˊther

,
Verb.
T.
To act as godfather to; to take under one’s fostering care.
[R.]
Burke.

Webster 1828 Edition

Godfather

GOD'F`ATHER

,
Noun.
The man who is sponsor for a child at baptism, who promises to answer for his future conduct and that he shall follow a life of piety, by this means laying himself under an indispensable obligation to instruct the child and watch over his conduct. This practice is of high antiquity in the christian church, and was probably intended to prevent children from being brought up in idolatry, in case the parents died before the children had arrived to years of discretion. In the catholic church the number of godfathers and godmothers is reduced to two; in the church of England, to three; but formerly the number was not limited.

GOD'F`ATHER

,
Verb.
T.
To act as godfather; to take under one's fostering care.

Definition 2024

godfather

godfather

English

Noun

godfather ‎(plural godfathers)

  1. A man present at the christening of a baby who promises to help raise the child in a Christian manner; a male godparent who sponsors the baptism of a child.
  2. A small post which is used in repairing a fence. For instance attached to and supporting an existing broken fence post.
  3. A mafia leader.

Hyponyms

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Translations

post used in repairing a fence

References

Verb

godfather ‎(third-person singular simple present godfathers, present participle godfathering, simple past and past participle godfathered)

  1. (transitive, often figuratively) To act as godfather to.
    • 2007 August 3, John F. Burns, “At Hussein Grave, Legend Lives as Fury Simmers”, in New York Times:
      The grave site, humble as it is, reflects something more than a hometown’s determination to honor a fallen son, something that seems irreducible in the politics of Iraq: the refusal of the Sunni minority, who ruled Iraq for centuries until Mr. Hussein’s overthrow, to reconcile themselves to the assumption of power by the Shiite majority who won elections godfathered by the American occupation authority.

Related terms

Etymology

From Middle English godfader, from Old English godfæder ‎(“godfather”), equivalent to god +‎ father. Cognate with Old Saxon godfader ‎(“godfather”), Middle Dutch godvader ‎(“godfather”), Danish gudfader, gudfar ‎(“godfather”), Swedish gudfader, gudfar ‎(“godfather”), Icelandic guðfaðir ‎(“godfather”). structurally: From god +‎ father

Pronunciation

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