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:

    But Father John went up,
    And Father John went down;
    And he wore small holes in his shoes,
    And he wore large holes in his gown.
    William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)

    My father had declared a predilection for heirs general, that is, males and females indiscriminately.... I, on the other hand, had a zealous partiality for heirs male, however remote.
    James Boswell (1740–1795)

    My father and mother in 1817 were forty-nine days on the road with their emigrant wagons [from Vermont] to Ohio. More than two days for each hour that I spent in the same journey.
    Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)