Topic: FAMILY
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| Language: | Old English |
| Origin: | fæder |
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fa‧ther1 S1 W1
[countable]
[countable]1 a male parent : Ask your father to help you. Andrew was very excited about becoming a father. He's been like a father to me. Steve recently became the proud father of a 7lb 12oz baby girl.
parent
SSFAsk your father to help you. Andrew was very excited about becoming a father.He's been like a father to me. a father of two/three/four etc (=a man with two, three etc children) The driver, a father of four, escaped uninjured.
The driver, a father of four, escaped uninjured.Steve recently became the proud father of a 7lb 12oz baby girl.2 a priest, especially in the Roman Catholic church : I have sinned, Father. Father Devlin ➔ Holy Father
priest
RRCFather
I have sinned, Father.Father Devlin3 people related to you who lived a long time ago [= ancestors]: Our fathers were exiles from their native land. ➔ forefather
fathers
[plural]Our fathers were exiles from their native land.4 a way of talking to or talking about God, used in the Christian religion :
god
Father
RRC5 the man who was responsible for starting something : Freud is the father of psychoanalysis.
the father of something
Freud is the father of psychoanalysis.6 if property or skill passes from father to son, children receive it or learn it from their parents : This is a district where old crafts are handed down from father to son.
from father to son
This is a district where old crafts are handed down from father to son.7 used to say that a boy behaves like his father, especially when this behaviour is bad
