Father - Definition

n 1: a male parent (also used as a term of address to your
father); "his father was born in Atlanta" [syn: father,
male parent, begetter] [ant: female parent, mother]
2: the founder of a family; "keep the faith of our forefathers"
[syn: forefather, father, sire]
3: `Father' is a term of address for priests in some churches
(especially the Roman Catholic Church or the Orthodox
Catholic Church); `Padre' is frequently used in the military
[syn: Father, Padre]
4: (Christianity) any of about 70 theologians in the period from
the 2nd to the 7th century whose writing established and
confirmed official church doctrine; in the Roman Catholic
Church some were later declared saints and became Doctor of
the Church; the best known Latin Church Fathers are Ambrose,
Augustine, Gregory the Great, and Jerome; those who wrote in
Greek include Athanasius, Basil, Gregory Nazianzen, and John
Chrysostom [syn: Church Father, Father of the Church,
Father]
5: a person who holds an important or distinguished position in
some organization; "the tennis fathers ruled in her favor";
"the city fathers endorsed the proposal"
6: God when considered as the first person in the Trinity; "hear
our prayers, Heavenly Father" [syn: Father, Father-God,
Fatherhood]
7: a person who founds or establishes some institution; "George
Washington is the father of his country" [syn: founder,
beginner, founding father, father]
8: the head of an organized crime family [syn: don, father]
v 1: make children; "Abraham begot Isaac"; "Men often father
children but don't recognize them" [syn: beget, get,
engender, father, mother, sire, generate, bring
forth]