■ noun
1》 a man in relation to his child or children.
↘a male animal in relation to its offspring.
↘a man who provides care and protection.
↘the oldest member of a society or other body.
↘( the Father ) (in Christian belief) the first person of the Trinity; God.
2》 a man who introduces or founds something.
↘( Fathers or Fathers of the Church ) early Christian theologians who are regarded as especially authoritative.
3》 (often as a title or form of address) a priest.
■ verb
1》 be the ~ of.
↘[usu. as noun ~ing ] treat with ~ly care.
↘be the source or originator of.
2》 ( ~ someone/thing on ) assign paternity of a child or responsibility for something to.
Phrases
how's your ~ Brit. informal a euphemistic way of referring to sexual intercourse.
Derivatives
~hood noun
~less adjective
~lessness noun
~like adjective & adverb
Origin
OE fæder , of Gmc origin, from an Indo-Eur. root shared by L. pater and Gk patēr .