English
father
Father comes from Middle English fader ‘a father’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ph₂tḗrreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fadērreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*faderreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fæder
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fader‘a father’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591father
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ph₂tḗrreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fadērreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*faderreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fæder
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fader‘a father’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591father
Earliest quotation: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “Well go too, we'll haue no Baſtards liue, /…”
The story
Inherited from Middle English fader, from Old English fæder, from Proto-West Germanic *fader, from Proto-Germanic *fadēr, from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr, possibly from *peh₂- + *-tḗr.
Linked words
pairs
- father and pattern both from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr
through Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- ‘to protect, to ward’
company, food, pain, feed, pope, apparent, companion, foster, pastor, fur, penetration, papal, pasture, accompaniment, forage, fodder, fad, panini, patrician, pav, pantaloons, patroness, pannier, 58 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr
papa, patriot, patron, padre, perpetrator, ayr, paternity, paternal, patrimony, père, perpetrate, pater, compere, 22 more
Today it means
noun A male parent, especially of a human; a male who parents a child (which he has sired, adopted, fostered, etc.).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr / father