The Supreme Being and Creator; God; in theology, the first
person in the Trinity.

To make one’s self the father of; to beget.

A senator of ancient Rome.

One who, or that which, gives origin; an originator; a
producer, author, or contriver; the first to practice any art,
profession, or occupation; a distinguished example or teacher.

A dignitary of the church, a superior of a convent, a
confessor (called also father confessor), or a priest; also, the eldest
member of a profession, or of a legislative assembly, etc.

A respectful mode of address to an old man.

A male ancestor more remote than a parent; a progenitor;
especially, a first ancestor; a founder of a race or family; – in the
plural, fathers, ancestors.

One who has begotten a child, whether son or daughter; a
generator; a male parent.

One who performs the offices of a parent by maintenance,
affetionate care, counsel, or protection.

One of the chief esslesiastical authorities of the first
centuries after Christ; – often spoken of collectively as the Fathers;
as, the Latin, Greek, or apostolic Fathers.