English

father

/ˈfɑː.ðə/
A male parent, especially of a human; a male who parents a child (which he has sired, adopted, fostered, etc.).

    Etymology graph

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    Origin

    Inherited from Middle English fader, from Old English fæder, from Proto-West Germanic *fader, from Proto-Germanic *fadēr, from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr, possibly from *peh₂- + *-tḗr. Doublet of ayr, faeder, athair, padre, pater, and père.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishfader
      • inheritedOld Englishfæder “father”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*fader
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*fadēr
            • inheritedProto-Indo-European*ph₂tḗr
              • partProto-Indo-European*-tḗr
    • rootProto-Indo-European*peh₂- “to protect; to shepherd”

    Related: English padre (doublet), English ayr (doublet), English pater (doublet), English père (doublet), English faeder (doublet), English athair (doublet)

    Words built on it: father-to-be

    Sources