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Father vs Farther - What's the difference?

father | farther |

As a noun 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.

As an adjective farther is

comparative of far Of or pertaining to being distant, or of greater distance in degree or of extension in time.

As an adverb farther is

comparative of far POS=adverb.

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

    *

    farther

    English

    Adjective

    (head)
  • (far) Of or pertaining to being distant, or of greater distance in degree or of extension in time.
  • Adverb

    (head)
  • * 1748 . David Hume. Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral. London: Oxford University Press, 1973. § 5.
  • But as the matter is often carried farther , even to the absolute rejecting of all profound reasonings, or what is commonly called metaphysics , we shall now proceed to consider what can reasonably be pleaded in their behalf.

    Usage notes

    Some usage guides distinguish (farther) and (further), with farther'' referring to distance, and ''further'' referring to degree or time. Grammar Girl: Further Versus Farther] Others, such as the OED, recommend ''farther'' as a comparative form of ''far'' and ''further for use when it is not comparative.[http://www.dailywritingtips.com/farther-further-whats-the-difference/ Daily Writing Tips – Farther, Further: What’s the Difference? However, most authorities consider the two interchangeable in most or all circumstances, and historically they have not been distinguished.