noun
Meaning 1
A man who founded something.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Phrase guide
founding father
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
noun
Meaning 2
Any of the men who were responsible for the founding of the United States of America. Chiefly used to refer to political leaders who drafted and signed the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, and to military leaders who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, in-plural
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
a person who founds or establishes some institution
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- George Washington is the father of his country
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: founder, beginner, father
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: originator, conceiver, mastermind
Narrower terms: cofounder, colonizer, coloniser, foundress
noun
Meaning 4
a member of the Constitutional Convention that drafted the United States Constitution in 1787
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: statesman, solon, national leader
History
Etymology
First used by then-U.S. senator Warren G. Harding in his keynote speech at the 1916 Republican National Convention.
Across languages
Translations
23 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Catalan: pare fundador — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- Czech: otec zakladatel — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- Dutch: stamvader — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- Finnish: perustaja — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- Finnish: perustajaisä — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- French: père fondateur — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- Georgian: დამფუძნებელი მამა (dampuʒnebeli mama) — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- German: Gründervater — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- German: Gründungsvater — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- Hungarian: alapító atya — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- Indonesian: peletak dasar — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- Indonesian: bapak pendiri — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- Italian: padre fondatore — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- Manx: bun-ayr — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- Polish: ojciec założyciel — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- Portuguese: pai fundador — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- Russian: оте́ц-основа́тель (otéc-osnovátelʹ) — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- Slovak: otec zakladateľ — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- Spanish: padre fundador — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- Swedish: grundare — man who founded something — see also founding mother, founder
- Chinese Mandarin: 國父 /国父 (Guófù) — man who founded something
- Georgian: დამფუძნებელი მამა (dampuʒnebeli mama) — man who founded something
- German: Gründervater der USA — man who founded something