Father

UK: 'father', 'Father': /ˈfɑːðə/ US: /ˈfɑðɚ/ ,(fä′ᵺər)

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Father / ˈfɑːðə/ noun

1. God, esp when considered as the first person of the Christian Trinity
2. Also called: Church Father any of the writers on Christian doctrine of the pre-Scholastic period
3. a title used for Christian priests

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

fa•ther /ˈfɑðɚ/  n. [countable]

1. a male parent.
2. forefather:
   [usually plural] Our fathers came from many different lands.
3. a person who has originated, started, or established something:
   George Washington was the father of the American nation.
4. one of the leading men in a city, town, etc.:
   the city fathers.
5. Religion [sometimes: Father] a priest or a title for a priest.
6. Religion [Father] God.

v. [~ + object]

7. to cause a woman to become pregnant with (a child);
   beget:
   He had fathered twins.
8. to be the creator, founder, or author of;
   originate:
   He was thought to have fathered the atomic bomb.

fa•ther•hood, n. [uncountable]
fa•ther•less, adj. 
fa•ther•ly, adj. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

fa•ther  (fä′ᵺər), n. 

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. British Terms [Chiefly Brit.] the oldest member of a society, profession, etc. Cf. dean¹ (def. 3).
9. Religion a priest.
10. Religion (cap.) [Theol.] the Supreme Being and Creator;
    God.
11. a title of respect for an elderly man.
12. Religion the Father, [Theol.] the first person of the Trinity.
13. Religion Also called church father. Ch. Hist. 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. Religion [Eccles.]
    • (often cap.) a title of reverence, as for church dignitaries, officers of monasteries, monks, confessors, and esp. priests.
    • a person bearing this title.
15. Ancient History fathers, [Rom. Hist.] See conscript fathers. 

v.t. 

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.

v.i. 

22. to perform the tasks or duties of a male parent;
    act paternally:
    Somehow he was able to write a book while fathering.

• bef. 900; Middle English fader, Old English fæder; cognate with German Vater, Latin pater, Greek paté̄r, Sanskrit pitar, Old Irish athir, Armenian hayr

fa′ther•like′, adj. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

Da•mien  (dā′mē ən; Fr. da myan′), n. Father 

(Jo•seph de Veu•ster) (Fr. zhô zef′ də vœ ster′), 1840–89, Belgian Roman Catholic missionary to the lepers of Molokai.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

father / ˈfɑːðə/ noun

1. a male parent
2. a person who founds a line or family; forefather
3. any male acting in a paternal capacity
4. (often capital) a respectful term of address for an old man
5. a male who originates something: the father of modern psychology
6. a leader of an association, council, etc; elder: a city father
7. the eldest or most senior member in a society, profession, etc
8. (often plural) a senator or patrician in ancient Rome

verb (transitive)

1. to procreate or generate (offspring); beget
2. to create, found, originate, etc
3. to act as a father to
4. to acknowledge oneself as father or originator of
5. followed by on or upon: to impose or place without a just reason

Etymology: Old English fæder; related to Old Norse fathir, Old Frisian feder, Old High German fater, Latin pater, Greek patēr, Sanskrit pitr