Father

n. [ OE. fader, AS. fæder; akin to OS. fadar, D. vader, OHG. fatar, G. vater, Icel. faðir Sw. & Dan. fader, OIr. athir, L. pater, Gr. path`r, Skr. pitr, perh. fr. Skr. pā protect. √75, 247. Cf. Papa, Paternal, Patriot, Potential, Pablum. ] 1. One who has begotten a child, whether son or daughter; a generator; a male parent. [ 1913 Webster ]

A wise son maketh a glad father. Prov. x. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

David slept with his fathers. 1 Kings ii. 10. [ 1913 Webster ]

Abraham, who is the father of us all. Rom. iv. 16. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. One who performs the offices of a parent by maintenance, affetionate care, counsel, or protection. [ 1913 Webster ]

I was a father to the poor. Job xxix. 16. [ 1913 Webster ]

He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house. Gen. xiv. 8. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A respectful mode of address to an old man. [ 1913 Webster ]

And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him [ Elisha ], . . . and said, O my father, my father! 2 Kings xiii. 14. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A senator of ancient Rome. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bless you, good father friar ! Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. One of the chief ecclesiastical authorities of the first centuries after Christ; -- often spoken of collectively as the Fathers; as, the Latin, Greek, or apostolic Fathers. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

The father of all such as handle the harp and organ. Gen. iv. 21. [ 1913 Webster ]

Might be the father, Harry, to that thought. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The father of good news. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. The Supreme Being and Creator; God; in theology, the first person in the Trinity. [ 1913 Webster ]

Our Father, which art in heaven. Matt. vi. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

Now had the almighty Father from above . . .
Bent down his eye. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]