to father
32
2.7
- verb
- /ˈfɑːðər/
:
ser padre de
- Did you know he fathered a boy 14 years ago, and he "forgot" to inform me?
- father a child
- fathered by a man
- father a daughter
It was down the road when I fathered a child out of wedlock.
- It was down the road when I fathered a child out of wedlock.
Examples
-
James, I'm afraid it's unlikely you'll be able to father a child.
-
And I believed that a man unable to father children was an outcast.
Fiction book (2001) -
If this happens, a man can still father a child by using a sperm bank.
Academic text (2010) -
As I said earlier, the good news is you'll still be able to father children.
-
I asked Mick to father a child, that's what we're talking about.
-
Later, he married a local Anglesey girl and fathered four sons, the most famous of whom was Richard Evans.
Academic text (2010) -
Unlike many, he lived to tell about it, even fathering a pair of twins when he was in his 60s.
Fiction book (2001) -
Roughly half of the babies born to 15-year-old mothers were fathered by adult men no longer in school.
Academic text (1998) -
When Esteban removed his headphones, Bernardo immediately turned to him and asked: "Have you fathered any children?"
Fiction book (1997) -
According to recent studies, many men can father a child well into their later years.
Synonyms
22
8.4
To father young animals or people
19
3.0
To make young animals or plants
8
9.9
To become the father of a child, especially in old or religious language
5
8.1
To give birth to a child or young animal
2
7.2
To cause the birth of children or young animals
Compounds
51
7.0
A person who helped create the United States by writing the Constitution in 1787
40
3.9
A man who gives care and guidance like a father to someone who is not his child
- Formal
3
9.9
A Christian writer from the early centuries whose writings help shape church teaching
- Formal
1
9.9
A leading early Christian writer whose teachings helped form church beliefs
1
8.2
English people who sailed to America on the Mayflower in 1620 and started a settlement in New England
- Formal
An early church writer who has a link to an Apostle or their close students and writes about the faith
Surface Forms
Etymology
Father as a verb comes from the old noun fæder, so to father a child is to be its male parent or to cause a child to be born. That is why 'to father' means to produce a child.