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:

    “O haud your tongue, my father dear,
    An’ dinna grieve your Sarah;
    A better lord was never born
    Than him I lost on Yarrow.
    —Unknown. The Dowie Houms o’ Yarrow (l. 53–56)

    A teacher for a day is a father for a lifetime.
    Chinese proverb.

    Punishment followed on a grand scale. For ten days, an unconscionable length of time, my father blessed the palms of his child’s outstretched, four-year-old hands with a sharp switch. Seven strokes a day on each hand; that makes one hundred forty strokes and then some. This put an end to the child’s innocence.
    Christoph Meckel (20th century)