From Latin pater, tris ( "father" ). 1st_ Male or male who has fathered and/or raised children . The same male with respect to his children. [Note : The plural 'parents' is epicene and names both parents, male and female . ] 2nd_ By the previous one, it is said of something or someone that gives rise to an idea, a movement (cultural, social, political, . . . ) . 3rd_ Title in Some Religious Orders . 4th_ First person of the Most Holy Christian Trinity . 5th_ Perhaps from the influence of the previous two meanings, it is said ironically or exaggerated that something is 'father' when it is "big, important, good".