plural fathers
1
a(1)
: a male parent
(2)
: a man who has begotten a child
also
: a male animal who has sired an offspring
b
capitalized
(1)
(2)
: the first person of the Trinity (see Trinity sense 1)
2
: forefather
the founding fathers
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 (see scholastic sense 1a) Christian writer accepted by the church as an authoritative witness to its teaching and practice
called also church father
5
6
: a priest of the regular clergy
7
: one of the leading men (as of a city)
—usually used in plural
a council of the city fathers
fathered; fathering
ˈfä-t͟hə-riŋ
ˈfät͟h-riŋ
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
: to care for or look after someone as a father might
Articles Related to father
Cite this Entry
“Father.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/father. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.
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