pater of the family
- noun
- /ˈpeɪtər əv ðə ˈfæmɪli/
- Archaic
:
paterfamilias
- As the pater of the family, he made all major decisions for the household.
Examples
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The pater of the family was respected for his wisdom and leadership.
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At family gatherings, the pater of the family often gave the opening toast.
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He is the pater of the family.
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As the pater of the family, he makes all the decisions.
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As the pater of the family, he made all major decisions for the household.
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At family gatherings, the pater of the family often gave the opening toast.
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The pater of the family was respected for his wisdom and leadership.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A man who has a child
35
8.2
A father's informal name
20
6.7
A man who leads a family or group with authority
5
9.9
A joking way to say a person's father, often used by boys at school
3
2.8
A person who is in charge of managing a home and family
1
9.9
A man who leads a family and makes its decisions, especially in ancient Rome
How Authoritative
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense is directly derivable from combining 'pater' (father) with 'of the family' (head of the household); a learner who knows these constituents would infer 'father or male head of the family.' Although 'pater' is somewhat formal/Latin-derived, the compositional structure and cross-linguistic parallels (e.g. paterfamilias) make the meaning transparent.
Etymology
Pater of the family comes from the Latin word pater meaning 'father'. By putting pater and family together, it gives the image of the 'head' man of the home, so today it means 'the father or head of a family'.