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father

Pronunciation: /ˈfɑː.ðə/

The English word “father” has 15 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A male parent, especially of a human; a male who parents a child (which he has sired, adopted, fostered, etc.).
  2. A male ancestor more remote than a parent; a progenitor; especially, a first ancestor.
  3. A term of respectful address for an elderly man.
  4. A term of respectful address for a priest.
  5. A person who plays the role of a father in some way.
  6. A pioneering figure in a particular field.
  7. Something that is the greatest or most significant of its kind.
  8. Something inanimate that begets.
  9. A member of a church council.
  10. The archived older version of a file that immediately precedes the current version, and was itself derived from the grandfather.

verb

  1. To be a father to; to sire.
  2. To give rise to.
  3. To act as a father; to support and nurture.
  4. To provide with a father.
  5. To adopt as one's own.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English fader, from Old English fæder, from Proto-West Germanic *fader, from Proto-Germanic *fadēr, from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr, possibly from *peh₂- + *-tḗr. Doublet of ayr, faeder, athair, padre, pater, and père.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.