father

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun Religion Formal

n. a title used for a priest in some Christian churches.

n. a formal title and form of address for a priest, particularly within the Catholic, Orthodox, or Anglican traditions.

“We asked Father O'Malley to say a prayer for the sick.”

“The parishioners waited outside the chapel to speak with Father Thomas after the morning service had concluded.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun

n. a man who starts or creates something important, like a new idea or a country.

n. a man who originates or is a pioneering figure in a specific field, movement, or nation.

“He is often called the father of modern medicine because of his discoveries.”

“The university dedicated a statue to the founding father of the physics department, acknowledging his decades of groundbreaking research.”

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Computing Technical

n. an older version of a computer file that was used to make the current one.

n. the version of a file or data set that immediately precedes the current version in a generational backup system.

“If the current file is corrupted, we can recover the data from the father file.”

“The system administrator implemented a grandfather-father-son rotation scheme to ensure multiple levels of data redundancy.”

C1 · Advanced Formal · Literary

v. to become the biological father of a child.

v. to procreate as the male parent; to sire offspring.

“The king hoped to father a son who would take over the throne.”

“Historical records suggest that the nobleman fathered several children with his first wife before her untimely death.”

C1 · Advanced Literary

v. to be the person who starts an idea or a plan.

v. to originate or give rise to an idea, movement, or project.

“His early research fathered a whole new way of thinking about biology.”

“The philosopher's radical essays fathered a political movement that would eventually reshape the entire region.”