father (noun)
1: a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father); "his father was born in Atlanta" [syn: [[male parent]], begetter] [ant: mother, mother]
2: the founder of a family; "keep the faith of our forefathers" [syn: forefather, 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 Lation 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]
8: the head of an organized crime family [syn: don] v : make children; "Abraham begot Isaac"; "Men often father children but don't recognize them" [syn: beget, get, engender, mother, sire, generate, bring forth]