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Boyfriend vs Father - What's the difference?

boyfriend | father |

As nouns the difference between boyfriend and father

is that boyfriend is a male partner in a romantic relationship while father is a (generally human) male who begets a child.

As a verb father is

to be a father to; to sire.

As a proper noun Father is

god, the father of Creation.

boyfriend

English

Alternative forms

* boy friend (dated)

Noun

(en noun)
  • A male partner in a romantic relationship.
  • * 2012 , (Justin Bieber), Boyfriend
  • If I was your boyfriend , I’d never let you go
    I can take you places you ain’t never been before.
  • A male friend.
  • Synonyms

    * (male friend) guyfriend (slang)

    Usage notes

    In contrast to its female equivalent, girlfriend, which is often used to describe a woman's close female friends, the term is not that often used in reference to non-romantic relationships. Boyfriend is a relatively modern term, and in the past has had implications of an illicit relationship (as sexual and romantic relationships outside marriage were generally frowned upon). It is now a generally accepted term and has no negative implications. Use of boyfriend generally implies that the male is a boy or a young man. An older man in a non-marital relationship and sometimes even a young man in a long-term relationship is more often described as a significant other or partner. Separating the word into its two components boy friend'' avoids the romantic implication nowadays, although ''boy friend'' used to mean the same as ''boyfriend does now. However, British and Australian men usually refer to a male friend as a mate. Similarly, Americans and Canadians use the term buddy.

    See also

    * * girlfriend * husband * lover * significant other ----

    father

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A (generally human) male who begets a child.
  • * Bible, Proverbs x. 1
  • A wise son maketh a glad father .
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=When this conversation was repeated in detail within the hearing of the young woman in question, and undoubtedly for his benefit, Mr. Trevor threw shame to the winds and scandalized the Misses Brewster then and there by proclaiming his father to have been a country storekeeper.}}
  • A male ancestor more remote than a parent; a progenitor; especially, a first ancestor.
  • * Bible, 1 Kings ii. 10
  • David slept with his fathers .
  • * Bible, Rom. iv. 16
  • Abraham, who is the father of us all
  • * Shakespeare
  • Bless you, good father friar!
  • A person who plays the role of a father in some way.
  • * Bible, Job xxix. 16
  • I was a father to the poor.
  • * Bible, Genesis xiv. 8
  • He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house.
  • The founder of a discipline or science.
  • A senator of Ancient Rome.
  • Synonyms

    * (parent) See also

    Antonyms

    * (with regards to gender) mother * (with regards to ancestry) son, daughter, child

    Hypernyms

    * (a male parent) parent

    Derived terms

    * Father Christmas * Father of Lies * Father Time * Father's Day * fatherhood * father-in-law * fatherland * fatherless * fatherliness * fatherly * forefather * godfather * God the Father * grandfather * great-grandfather * Heavenly Father * how's your father * * stepfather

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To be a father to; to sire.
  • * 1592 , v 4
  • Well, go to; we'll have no bastards live; Especially since Charles must father it.
  • (figuratively) To give rise to.
  • * 1610 — ii 2
  • Cowards father cowards and base things sire base.
  • To act as a father; to support and nurture.
  • * 1610 — iv 2
  • Ay, good youth! And rather father thee than master thee.
  • To provide with a father.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Think you I am no stronger than my sex, / Being so fathered and so husbanded?
  • To adopt as one's own.
  • * Jonathan Swift
  • Men of wit / Often fathered what he writ.

    See also

    * beget * grandpa * pater * paternal *

    Statistics

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