father

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
father/ˈfɑːðə(r)/

▶noun

• 1 a man in relation to his child or children.

  ■ a male animal in relation to its offspring.

  ■ a man who provides care and protection.

  ■ the oldest member of a society or other body.

  ■ (the Father) (in Christian belief) the first person of the Trinity; God.

• 2 a man who introduces or founds something.

  ■ (Fathers or Fathers of the Church) early Christian theologians who are regarded as especially authoritative.

• 3 (often as a title or form of address) a priest.

▶verb

• 1 be the father of.

  ■ (usu. as noun fathering) treat with fatherly care.

  ■ be the source or originator of.

• 2 (father someone/thing on) assign paternity of a child or responsibility for something to.

– phrases
how's your father Brit. informal a euphemistic way of referring to sexual intercourse.

– derivatives
fatherhood noun,
fatherless adjective,
fatherlessness noun,
fatherlike adjective & adverb.

– origin OE fæder, of Gmc origin, from an Indo-Eur. root shared by L. pater and Gk patēr.