Your male parent.
The English term father, a noun that denotes the lineal male ancestor and parent of a child, has a long and illustrious history, etymologically. There are analogous sounds across a spectrum of languages which refer to the word for the male parent, from Sanskrit, to Latin, Greek, German and Dutch.
The Sanskrit word is ‘pitar’, the Latin is ‘pater’ and the Greek ‘pater’. Furthermore, in Old Norse it is ‘fathir’ while in German it is ‘vater’. These similarities are remarkable considering the very different, even geographically distant, languages, which all seem to have found a corresponding sound for the same concept.
People often call their father Dad or, especially if they are young children, Daddy. In the past, people often called their paternal parent Father or Papa. The appellations of Dad or Papa are thought to have originated from baby-speak. This could be due to the difficulty for babies to pronounce the letter f. The easy-to-make front-of-mouth sounds of dada and papa are noticeable across languages on many continents.
Sunday 18th June 2017 is Father’s Day in the United Kingdom. This is an annual holiday designated in the Gregorian calendar for the celebration and honouring of fathers and paternal bonds or influences. It is celebrated on the third Sunday in June by many countries, though the date varies across the globe.
father
[COUNTABLE] your male parent. People often call their father Dad or, especially if they are young children, Daddy. In the past, people often called their father Father or Papa.My father taught me to drive.
George suspected that he was not the father of Emily’s child.
The thought of becoming a father terrified Mark.
someone’s real/natural father: I never knew my real father.
a father of two/three/four etc: The 32-year-old father of three denies the charges.
be like a father to someone: Tom has been like a father to me.
2. Father used for talking to or about a priest, especially a Roman Catholic priest
I need your help, Father.
Father Peter said that that wasn’t a sin.
3. Father used for talking to or about God in the Christian religion
Heavenly/Almighty Father: Heavenly Father, please hear our prayers.
