Father (fä&thlig_;&etilde_;r), 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. pathr, 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.
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A wise son maketh a glad father. Prov. x. 1.
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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.
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David slept with his fathers. 1 Kings ii. 10.
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Abraham, who is the father of us all. Rom. iv. 16.
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3. One who performs the offices of a parent by maintenance, affetionate care, counsel, or protection.
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I was a father to the poor. Job xxix. 16.
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He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house. Gen. xiv. 8.
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4. A respectful mode of address to an old man.
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And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him [Elisha], . . . and said, O my father, my father! 2 Kings xiii. 14.
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5. A senator of ancient Rome.
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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.
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Bless you, good father friar ! Shak.
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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.
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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.
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The father of all such as handle the harp and organ. Gen. iv. 21.
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Might be the father, Harry, to that thought. Shak.
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The father of good news. Shak.
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9. The Supreme Being and Creator; God; in theology, the first person in the Trinity.
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Our Father, which art in heaven. Matt. vi. 9.
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Now had the almighty Father from above . . .
Bent down his eye. Milton.
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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.
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