longfather

L1O1N1G2F4A1T1H4E1R1

noun

A male ancestor.

Scrabble 17

Meanings

nounlongfather (plural longfathers)

plural longfathers

  1. fantasyA male ancestor.

    Three kings ago, my longfather taught the Everran lords that a king is not a corsair's figurehead.

    2005, Sylvia Kelso, Everran's Bane, page 20
    4 more examples

    'I would have things as they were in all the days of my life,' answered Denethor, 'and in the days of my longfathers before me: to be the Lord of this City in peace, and leave my chair to a son after me, who would be his own master and no wizard's pupil.

    1955, J. R. R. Tolkien, “The Pyre of Denethor”, in The Return of the King

    Not until I could no longer feel behind me the contamination that was the temple where the Warlock's longfather had ruled did I pause to clean myself again with dust.

    1982, Ardath Mayhar, Warlock's Gift, page 65

    If you were to walk among them, O cherished Becca, as our own longfather did, who himself ran and played in the old man's field, you would be dazzled by their beauty, just as our longfather was, for they grow higher and ever higher, and brighter and ever brighter.

    2005, Gene Wolfe, “The Old Woman Whose Rolling Pin Is the Sun”, in Innocents Aboard: New Fantasy Stories, page 43

    And if thou wouldst aid me for the sake of sworn friendship, promise me only this—take my place, as once you took the place of my longfather William.

    2007, Cecilia Dart-Thornton, The Battle of Evernight

    Synonyms: forefather, patriarch, highfather

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA male ancestor.

Origin

From long + father. Coined by English writer and philologist J. R. R. Tolkien.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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