father

Meanings

Noun

  • A (generally human) male who begets a child.
  • A male ancestor more remote than a parent; a progenitor; especially, a first ancestor.
  • A person who plays the role of a father in some way.
  • The founder of a discipline or science.
  • Something that is the greatest or most significant of its kind.
  • Something inanimate that begets.

Verb

  • To be a father to; to sire.
  • To give rise to.
  • To act as a father; to support and nurture.
  • To provide with a father.
  • To adopt as one's own.

Related

Similar words

Opposite words

Broader meaning words

Origin

  • From Middle English fader, from Old English fæder, from Proto-West Germanic *fader, from Proto-Germanic *fadēr, from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr. ayr, faeder, padre, pater, and père.

Modern English dictionary

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