fathers

1. a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)Examples: "his father was born in Atlanta"Synonyms: begetter, father, male parentAntonyms: female parent, mother

2. the founder of a familyExamples: "keep the faith of our forefathers"Synonyms: father, forefather, sire

3. `Father' is a term of address for priests in some churches (especially the Roman Catholic Church or the Orthodox Catholic Church); `Padre' is frequently used in the militarySynonyms: Father, Padre

4. (Christianity) any of about 70 theologians in the period from the 2nd to the 7th century whose writing established and confirmed official church doctrine; in the Roman Catholic Church some were later declared saints and became Doctor of the Church; the best known Latin Church Fathers are Ambrose, Augustine, Gregory the Great, and Jerome; those who wrote in Greek include Athanasius, Basil, Gregory Nazianzen, and John ChrysostomSynonyms: Church Father, Father, Father of the Church

5. a person who holds an important or distinguished position in some organizationExamples: "the tennis fathers ruled in her favor"; "the city fathers endorsed the proposal"Synonyms: father

6. God when considered as the first person in the TrinityExamples: "hear our prayers, Heavenly Father"Synonyms: Father, Father-God, Fatherhood