father

Dictionary definition · Father

‘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
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)"his father was born in Atlanta"
(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
the founder of a family"keep the faith of our forefathers"
God when considered as the first person in the Trinity"hear our prayers, Heavenly Father"
a person who holds an important or distinguished position in some organization"the tennis fathers ruled in her favor"
a person who founds or establishes some institution"George Washington is the father of his country"
the head of an organized crime family

Source: Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).