Father

Father

A father (or dad) is defined as a male parent or Individual progenitor of human offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to a father and comparatively to "maternal" for a mother. The verb "to father" means to procreate or to sire a child from which also derives the gerund "fathering". Fathers determine the gender of their child through a sperm cell which either contains an X chromosome (female), or Y chromosome (male).

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Famous quotes containing the word father:

    ...I’m thirteen years old, and I think I’m at the crossroads of my life. I’ve got to make good between now and the time I’m twenty, and I have only seven years to do it in. Besides, I’m the father of my family and I’ve got to earn all the money I can.
    Mary Pickford (1893–1979)

    Maud Muller looked and sighed: “Ah me!
    That I the Judge’s bride might be!

    “He would dress me up in silks so fine,
    And praise and toast me at his wine.

    “My father should wear a broadcloth coat,
    My brother should sail a painted boat.
    John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892)

    When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.
    Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)