fatherling

F4A1T1H4E1R1L1I1N1G2

noun

A father.

Scrabble 17
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Meanings

nounfatherling (plural fatherlings)

plural fatherlings

  1. derogatorydiminutiveendearingA father.

    Katherine Ivanovna rose from her chair, and in an outwardly calm voice (though she turned pale and her chest was heaving) told her that if she once more made so bold as to put her “dirty little fatherling" in the same class with her own dear papa, [...]

    2006, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment
  2. A father's child.

    Because P (parent) and Ch (child) elide gender distinctions, Gould substitutes two pairs of terms: F (father) and F (fatherling, or man's child); [...]

    2012, Thomas R. Trautmann, Peter M. Whiteley, Crow-Omaha

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
daddaddyfatherold manpapappapa bearpaw

Origin

From father + -ling.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

fatherling. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fatherling

MLA

“fatherling.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fatherling. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fatherling,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fatherling.

Source: fatherling on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.