The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Father \Fa"ther\ (f[aum]"[th][~e]r), n. [OE. fader, AS.
   f[ae]der; akin to OS. fadar, D. vader, OHG. fatar, G. vater,
   Icel. fa[eth]ir Sw. & Dan. fader, OIr. athir, L. pater, Gr.
   path`r, Skr. pitr, perh. fr. Skr. p[=a] protect. [root]75,
   247. Cf. Papa, Paternal, Patriot, Potential,
   Pablum.]
   1. One who has begotten a child, whether son or daughter; a
      generator; a male parent.
      [1913 Webster]

            A wise son maketh a glad father.      --Prov. x. 1.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. A male ancestor more remote than a parent; a progenitor;
      especially, a first ancestor; a founder of a race or
      family; -- in the plural, fathers, ancestors.
      [1913 Webster]

            David slept with his fathers.         --1 Kings ii.
                                                  10.
      [1913 Webster]

            Abraham, who is the father of us all. --Rom. iv. 16.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. One who performs the offices of a parent by maintenance,
      affetionate care, counsel, or protection.
      [1913 Webster]

            I was a father to the poor.           --Job xxix.
                                                  16.
      [1913 Webster]

            He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all
            his house.                            --Gen. xiv. 8.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. A respectful mode of address to an old man.
      [1913 Webster]

            And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him
            [Elisha], . . . and said, O my father, my father!
                                                  --2 Kings
                                                  xiii. 14.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. A senator of ancient Rome.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. A dignitary of the church, a superior of a convent, a
      confessor (called also father confessor), or a priest;
      also, the eldest member of a profession, or of a
      legislative assembly, etc.
      [1913 Webster]

            Bless you, good father friar !        --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   7. One of the chief ecclesiastical authorities of the first
      centuries after Christ; -- often spoken of collectively as
      the Fathers; as, the Latin, Greek, or apostolic Fathers.
      [1913 Webster]

   8. One who, or that which, gives origin; an originator; a
      producer, author, or contriver; the first to practice any
      art, profession, or occupation; a distinguished example or
      teacher.
      [1913 Webster]

            The father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
                                                  --Gen. iv. 21.
      [1913 Webster]

            Might be the father, Harry, to that thought. --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

            The father of good news.              --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   9. The Supreme Being and Creator; God; in theology, the first
      person in the Trinity.
      [1913 Webster]

            Our Father, which art in heaven.      --Matt. vi. 9.
      [1913 Webster]

            Now had the almighty Father from above . . .
            Bent down his eye.                    --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   Adoptive father, one who adopts the child of another,
      treating it as his own.

   Apostolic father, Conscript fathers, etc. See under
      Apostolic, Conscript, etc.

   Father in God, a title given to bishops.

   Father of lies, the Devil.

   Father of the bar, the oldest practitioner at the bar.

   Fathers of the city, the aldermen.

   Father of the Faithful.
      (a) Abraham. --Rom. iv. --Gal. iii. 6-9.
      (b) Mohammed, or one of the sultans, his successors.

   Father of the house, the member of a legislative body who
      has had the longest continuous service.

   Most Reverend Father in God, a title given to archbishops
      and metropolitans, as to the archbishops of Canterbury and
      York.

   Natural father, the father of an illegitimate child.

   Putative father, one who is presumed to be the father of an
      illegitimate child; the supposed father.

   Spiritual father.
      (a) A religious teacher or guide, esp. one instrumental in
          leading a soul to God.
      (b) (R. C. Ch.) A priest who hears confession in the
          sacrament of penance.

   The Holy Father (R. C. Ch.), the pope.
      [1913 Webster]