Adjacent Words

Father definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

F'ATHER, n. [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. Proverbs 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? 2 Kings 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. Daniel 5.
5. One who feeds and supports or exercises paternal care over another. God is called the father of the fatherless.
Psalms 118.
6. He who creates, invents, makes or composes any thing; the author, former or contriver; a founder, director or instructor. God as creator is the father of all men. John 8. Jabal was the father of such as dwell in tents; and Jubal of musicians. Genesis 4. God is the father of spirits and of lights. Homer is considered as the father of epic poetry. Washington, as a defender and an affectionate and wise counselor, is called the father of his country. And see 1 Chr
2:51. 1 Chr
4:14. 1 Chr
9:35. Satan is called the father of lies; he introduced sin, and instigates men to sin. John 8. Abraham is called the father of believers. He was an early believer, and a pattern of faith and obedience. Romans 4.
7. Fathers, in the plural, ancestors.
David slept with his fathers. 1 Kings 2.
8. A father in law. So Heli is called the father of Joseph. Luke 3.
9. The appellation of the first person in the adorable Trinity.
Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28.
10. The title given to dignitaries of the church, superiors of convents, and to popish confessors.
11. The appellation of the ecclesiastical writers of the first centuries, as Polycarp, Jerome, etc.
12. The title of a senator in ancient Rome; as conscript fathers.
Adoptive father, he who adopts the children of another, and acknowledges them as his own.
Natural father, the father of illegitimate children.
Putative father, one who is only reputed to be the father; the supposed father.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father); "his father was born in Atlanta" [syn: father, male parent, begetter] [ant: female parent, mother]
2: the founder of a family; "keep the faith of our forefathers" [syn: forefather, father, sire]
3: `Father' is a term of address for priests in some churches (especially the Roman Catholic Church or the Orthodox Catholic Church); `Padre' is frequently used in the military [syn: Father, Padre]
4: (Christianity) any of about 70 theologians in the period from the 2nd to the 7th century whose writing established and confirmed official church doctrine; in the Roman Catholic Church some were later declared saints and became Doctor of the Church; the best known Latin Church Fathers are Ambrose, Augustine, Gregory the Great, and Jerome; those who wrote in Greek include Athanasius, Basil, Gregory Nazianzen, and John Chrysostom [syn: Church Father, Father of the Church, Father]
5: a person who holds an important or distinguished position in some organization; "the tennis fathers ruled in her favor"; "the city fathers endorsed the proposal"
6: God when considered as the first person in the Trinity; "hear our prayers, Heavenly Father" [syn: Father, Father-God, Fatherhood]
7: a person who founds or establishes some institution; "George Washington is the father of his country" [syn: founder, beginner, founding father, father]
8: the head of an organized crime family [syn: don, father] v
1: make children; "Abraham begot Isaac"; "Men often father children but don't recognize them" [syn: beget, get, engender, father, mother, sire, generate, bring forth]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English fader, from Old English fζder; akin to Old High German fater father, Latin pater, Greek pat?r Date: before 12th century 1. a. a man who has begotten a child; also sire 3 b. capitalized (1) god 1 (2) the first person of the Trinity 2. forefather 3. a. one related to another in a way suggesting that of father to child b. an old man — used as a respectful form of address 4. often capitalized a pre-Scholastic Christian writer accepted by the church as an authoritative witness to its teaching and practice — called also church father 5. a. one that originates or institutes <the father of modern science> b. source <the sun, the father of warmth and light — Lena M. Whitney> c. prototype 6. a priest of the regular clergy; broadly priest — used especially as a title 7. one of the leading men (as of a city) — usually used in plural • fatherhood noun • fatherless adjective • fatherlike adjective or adverb II. verb (fathered; fathering) Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. a. beget b. to be the founder, producer, or author of <fathered the improvement plan> c. to accept responsibility for 2. a. to fix the paternity or origin of b. to place responsibility for the origin or cause of <collected gossip and fathered it on responsible men — J. A. Williamson> 3. foist, impose intransitive verb to care for or look after someone as a father might

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a a man in relation to a child or children born from his fertilization of an ovum. b (in full adoptive father) a man who has continuous care of a child, esp. by adoption. 2 any male animal in relation to its offspring. 3 (usu. in pl.) a progenitor or forefather. 4 an originator, designer, or early leader. 5 a person who deserves special respect (the father of his country). 6 (Fathers or Fathers of the Church) early Christian theologians whose writings are regarded as especially authoritative. 7 (also Father) a (often as a title or form of address) a priest, esp. of a religious order. b a religious leader. 8 (the Father) (in Christian belief) the first person of the Trinity. 9 (Father) a venerable person, esp. as a title in personifications (Father Time). 10 the oldest member or doyen (Father of the House). 11 (usu. in pl.) the leading men or elders in a city or State (city fathers). --v.tr. 1 beget; be the father of. 2 behave as a father towards. 3 originate (a scheme etc.). 4 appear as or admit that one is the father or originator of. 5 (foll. by on) assign the paternity of (a child, book) to a person. Phrases and idioms: father-figure an older man who is respected like a father; a trusted leader. father-in-law (pl. fathers-in-law) the father of one's husband or wife. father of chapel see CHAPEL. Father's Day a day (usu. the third Sunday in June) established for a special tribute to fathers. Father Time see TIME. Derivatives: fatherhood n. fatherless adj. fatherlessness n. fatherlike adj. & adv. fathership n. Etymology: OE fæder with many Gmc cognates: rel. to L pater, Gk pater

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Father Fa"ther, n. [OE. fader, AS. f[ae]der; akin to OS. fadar, D. vader, OHG. fatar, G. vater, Icel. Fa?ir Sw. & Dan. fader, OIr. athir, L. pater, Gr. ?????, Skr. pitr, perh. fr. Skr. p[=a] protect. ???,???. 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 og 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 ! --Shak. 7. One of the chief esslesiastical 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. --Shak. The father of good news. --Shak. 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Father Fa"ther, v. 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. --Shak. 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 ? --Shak. To father on or 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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(fathers, fathering, fathered) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. Your father is your male parent. You can also call someone your father if he brings you up as if he was this man. His father was a painter... He would be a good father to my children. ...Mr Stoneman, a father of five. N-FAMILY 2. When a man fathers a child, he makes a woman pregnant and their child is born. She claims Mark fathered her child... He fathered at least three children by the wives of other men. VERB: V n, V n by n 3. The man who invented or started something is sometimes referred to as the father of that thing. ...Max Dupain, regarded as the father of modern photography. N-COUNT: N of n 4. In some Christian churches, priests are addressed or referred to as Father. N-VOC; N-TITLE; N-COUNT

Easton's Bible Dictionary

a name applied (1) to any ancestor (Deut. 1:11; 1 Kings 15:11; Matt. 3:9; 23:30, etc.); and (2) as a title of respect to a chief, ruler, or elder, etc. (Judg. 17:10; 18:19; 1 Sam. 10:12; 2 Kings 2:12; Matt. 23:9, etc.). (3) The author or beginner of anything is also so called; e.g., Jabal and Jubal (Gen. 4:20, 21; comp. Job 38:28).

Applied to God (Ex. 4:22; Deut. 32:6; 2 Sam. 7:14; Ps. 89:27, 28, etc.). (1.) As denoting his covenant relation to the Jews (Jer. 31:9; Isa. 63:16; 64:8; John 8:41, etc.).

(2.) Believers are called God's "sons" (John 1:12; Rom. 8:16; Matt. 6:4, 8, 15, 18; 10:20, 29). They also call him "Father" (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:4)

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

fa'-ther (Anglo-Saxon, Foeder; German, Vater; Hebrew 'abh, etymology uncertain, found in many cognate languages; Greek pater, from root pa, "nourisher," "protector," "upholder"):

1. Immediate Male Ancestor:

Immediate male ancestor. The father in the Hebrew family, as in the Roman, had supreme rights over his children, could dispose of his daughter in marriage (Ge 29), arrange his son's marriage (Ge 24), sell his children (Ex 21:7), but not his daughter to a stranger (Ne 5:5), had power of life and death, as in the case of Isaac (Ge 22), Jephthah's daughter (Jud 11:34 ), the sacrificing of his children to Molech (Le 18:21; 20:3-5), etc. Respect, reverence and affection for fathers (and equally for mothers) is most tenderly, explicitly and sternly prescribed from the earliest times (Ex 20:12; Le 19:3; De 5:16; Mic 7:6; Eze 22:7, etc.). A symmetrical and beautiful picture of the duties and character of the ideal human father may be built up from the Old Testament, with added and enlarged touches from the New Testament. He loves (Ge 37:4); commands (Ge 50:16; Pr 6:20); instructs (Pr 1:8, etc.); guides, encourages, warns (Jer 3:4; 1Th 2:11); trains (Ho 11:3); rebukes (Ge 34:30); restrains (Eli, by contrast, 1Sa 3:13); punishes (De 21:18); chastens (Pr 3:12; De 8:5); nourishes (Isa 1:2); delights in his son (Pr 3:12), and in his son's wisdom (Pr 10:1); is deeply pained by his folly (Pr 17:25); he is considerate of his children's needs and requests (Mt 7:10); considerate of their burdens, or sins (Mal 3:17, "As a man spareth his own son"); tenderly familiar (Lu 11:7, "with me in bed"); considerately self-restrained (Eph 6:4, "Provoke not your children to wrath"); having in view the highest ends (ibid., "Nurture them in the chastening and admonition of the Lord"); pitiful (Ps 103:13, "as a father pitieth his children"); the last human friend (but one) to desert the child (Ps 27:10: "When (a thing to the psalmist incredible) my father and my mother forsake me, then Yahweh will take me up").

2. Ancestors, Immediate or Remote:

(a) Ancestor, immediate or remote: Ge 28:13, "Abraham thy father" (grandfather); 1Ki 22:50, "Jehoshaphat .... David his father"; Jer 35:6, "Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our father"; Da 5:11, "Nebuchadnezzar thy father" (personal or official ancestor); Ge 15:15, "Go to thy fathers in peace" (and so (in the plural) in over 500 passages). The expressions "slept with his fathers," "go down to his fathers," "buried with his fathers," "gathered to his fathers," are self-explanatory euphemisms.

(b) The founders of the (Hebrew) race, specifically the patriarchs:' Ro 9:5, "whose are the fathers," considered here also as in a sense the religious ancestors of all believers.

(c) Progenitors of clans, i.e. (Revised Version (British and American)) "fathers' houses": Ex 6:14; 1Ch 27:1, etc.

(d) Gods as progenitors of men: Jer 2:27, "Who say to a stock, thou art my father."

3. Figurative and Derived Uses:

(a) A spiritual ancestor, one who has infused his own spirit into others, whether good, as Abraham, the father of the faithful, Ro 4:11; or bad, as Joh 8:44, "Ye are of your father the devil."

(b) Indicating closest resemblance, kinship, affinity: Job 17:14, "If I have said to corruption, Thou art my father."

(c) A source: Eph 1:17, "Father of glory"; Job 38:28, "Hath the rain a father?"

(d) Creator: Jas 1:17, "the Father of lights."

(e) The inventor or originator of an art or mode of life: Ge 4:20, "father of such as dwell in tents" (a hint here of hereditary occupations? Probably not).

(f) One who exhibits the fatherly characteristics: Ps 68:5, "a father of the fatherless."

(g) One who occupies a position of counsel, care, or control (frequently applied by sultans to their prime ministers): Ge 45:8, "a father to Pharaoh"; Jud 17:10, "Be unto me a father and a priest."

(h) A revered or honored superior: 2Ki 5:13, "My father, if the prophet had bid thee"; but especially applied to prophets: 2Ki 2:12, "My father, my father!" also to elderly and venerable men: 1 Joh 2:13, "I write unto you, fathers"; hence also, with perhaps an outlook on (2) (a), deceased early Christians: 2Pe 3:4, "from the day that the fathers fell asleep." An ecclesiastical title, condemned (in principle) by our Lord: Mt 23:9, "Call no man your father on the earth"; but applied, under the power of the Spirit, to members of the Sanhedrin (probably) by Stephen: Ac 7:2; and by Paul: 22:1, but the latter, perhaps also the former, may simply refer to the elderly among his hearers. Christ's condemnation is clearly of the praise-seeking or obsequious spirit, rather than of a particular custom.

"Father," used by Mary of Joseph, in relation to Jesus, equals "putative father," a necessary reserve at a time when the virgin birth could not yet be proclaimed (Lu 2:49). But note Jesus' answer: "my Father's house."

Philip Wendell Crannell

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Male parent. 2. Ancestor, forefather, progenitor. 3. Creator, maker, originator, author, inventor. 4. Venerable man (an epithet of honor). II. v. a. 1. Beget, engender. 2. Adopt, become a (moral) father to. 3. Endow or supply with a father. 4. Ascribe to a father or author. 5. Assume the authorship of, become responsible for.

Moby Thesaurus

Ambrose of Milan, Athanasius, Barnabas, Basil, Brother, Clement of Alexandria, Clement of Rome, Cyprian of Carthage, Cyril of Jerusalem, Dom, Gregory of Nyssa, Hermas, His Grace, His Holiness, His Reverence, Holiness, Ignatius, Irenaeus, Jerome, John, John Chrysostom, Justin Martyr, Lactantius Firmianus, Luke, Mark, Monsignor, Mother, Origen, Papias, Paul, Peter, Polycarp, Rabbi, Sister, Tertullian, ante-Nicene Fathers, apostle, disciple, evangelist, saint

Moby Thesaurus

Establishment, VIP, abba, abbe, affiliate to, agent, ancestor, ancestors, apprentice, architect, artificer, artist, aunt, auntie, author, baron, bear, beget, begetter, beginner, big gun, big man, big name, bigwig, birth, blood brother, brass, brass hat, breed, breed true, brethren, bring about, bring forth, bring to birth, bring to effect, bring to pass, brother, bub, bubba, bud, buddy, builder, cassock, catalyst, cause, causer, celebrity, chaplain, clergyman, conceive, conceiver, confessor, constructor, copulate, country cousin, cousin, cousin once removed, cousin twice removed, craftsman, create, creator, crossbreed, cure, dad, daddy, daughter, dean, derive from, designer, deviser, dignitary, dignity, discoverer, do, doyen, doyenne, effect, effector, effectuate, elder, eldest, encourager, engender, engenderer, engineer, establish, executor, executrix, father confessor, father in Christ, figure, filiate to, first cousin, first-born, firstling, forebear, forefather, foster brother, foster father, found, founder, frame, framer, frater, gallach, generate, generator, genitor, gestate, get, give birth to, give occasion to, give origin to, give rise to, governor, grandnephew, grandniece, granduncle, great man, great-aunt, great-uncle, grower, half brother, hatch, important person, inaugurate, inaugurator, inbreed, industrialist, initiate, initiator, inspirer, instigator, institute, institutor, interests, introducer, invent, inventor, journeyman, kid brother, lion, lords of creation, magnate, make, make love, maker, man of mark, manufacturer, master, master craftsman, minister, mogul, mother, motor, mover, multiply, nabob, name, nephew, niece, notability, notable, nuncle, nunks, nunky, occasion, old boy, old man, older, oldest, organizer, originate, originator, outbreed, pa, padre, panjandrum, pap, papa, pappy, parent, parish priest, parson, past master, pastor, pater, paterfamilias, patriarch, penitentiary, person of renown, personage, personality, pillar of society, planner, pop, pops, power, power elite, precursor, presbyter, priest, prime mover, primogenitor, primum mobile, procreate, produce, producer, progenerate, progenitor, proliferate, promoter, propagate, raiser, realize, realizer, reproduce in kind, ruling circle, sachem, second cousin, senior, set afloat, set on foot, set up, shaper, shepherd, sire, sis, sissy, sister, sister-german, sistern, sky pilot, smith, soil, somebody, something, son, spawn, spiritual director, spiritual father, stepbrother, stepfather, stepsister, supporter, the great, the old man, the top, top brass, top people, trace to, tycoon, unc, uncle, uncs, uterine brother, very important person, work, worthy, wright