Main Entry: ¹fa·ther

Pronunciation: \ˈfä-thər\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English fader, from Old English fæder; akin to Old High German fater father, Latin pater, Greek patēr

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

— fa·ther·hood \-ˌhu̇d\ noun

— fa·ther·less \-ləs\ adjective

— fa·ther·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective or adverb