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).
Read more about Father: Etymology, Relationship With Children, Determination of Parenthood, History of Fatherhood, Father–offspring Conflict, Categories, Non-human Fatherhood
Famous quotes containing the word father:
“As we try to change, we will discover within us a fierce struggle between our loyalty to that battle-scarred victim of his own childhood, our father, and the father we want to be. We must meet our childhood father at close range: get to know him, learn to forgive him, and somehow, go beyond him.”
—Augustus Y. Napier (20th century)
“As a father I had some trouble finding the words to separate the person from the deed. Usually, when one of my sons broke the rules or a window, I was too angry to speak calmly and objectively. My own solution was to express my feelings, but in an exaggerated, humorous way: “You do that again and you will be grounded so long they will call you Rip Van Winkle II,” or “If I hear that word again, I’m going to braid your tongue.””
—David Elkind (20th century)
“A teacher for a day is a father for a lifetime.”
—Chinese proverb.