FATHER - Definition & Meaning for Kids
Meaning 1
Part of speech: Noun
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
Example: his father was born in Atlanta
Categories: Parent
Meaning 2
Part of speech: Noun
`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
Categories: Priest, Title, Title of respect, Form of address
Meaning 3
Part of speech: Noun
a person who holds an important or distinguished position in some organization
Example: the tennis fathers ruled in her favor; the city fathers endorsed the proposal
Categories: Leader
Meaning 4
Part of speech: Noun
God when considered as the first person in the Trinity
Example: hear our prayers, Heavenly Father
Synonyms
Father of the church, Male parent, Mother, Church father, Father-god
Antonyms
female_parent, Mother
🌱 Word Origin (Etymology)
The word "father" comes from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr. It started in Proto-Germanic *fadēr. Then it appeared in Proto-West Germanic *fader. Later, people used it in Old English fæder. After that, it was Middle English fader.
🔗 Related Words
ayr – A related word in the same word family.
faeder – A related word in the same word family.
padre – A related word in the same word family.
🧩 Fun Fact
Words that pass through many languages often accumulate layers of meaning from each culture.