1.father用作名词时意思是“生身之父”,也可用于指“丈夫之父”,即“公公”,或“妻子之父”,即“岳父”。是可数名词,用作对家人的称谓时,可视为专有名词,一般不用冠词。也可用于比喻,一般无冠词。
2.father用于比喻可指“奠基人”“发明者”“根源”等。
3.father第一个字母大写时,还可指“上帝”“神父”。
4.father还可作“祖先”“前辈”,此时要用复数形式。

My father carries on a trade in silk.我父亲经营丝绸生意。
Her father will never approve her marrying such a poor man.她父亲决不会赞成她嫁给这样穷的一个人。
He appealed to his father.他向他父亲提出请求。
My uncle has been like a father to me since my own father died.自从我的父亲死后,我叔叔一直像父亲一样待我。
Like father, like son.有其父必有其子。
The father and the son-in-law have been getting along very well.岳父和女婿一直相处很好。
This is the land of our father.这是我们祖先的土地。
Father Brown is our local priest.布朗神父是我们这一带的教士。
God is called our Father.我们称上帝为圣父。
Do you know who is the father of the radio?你知道谁发明了收音机?
Graham Bell was the father of the telephone.格雷汉姆·贝尔是电话的发明人。
Chaucer was the father of English poetry.乔叟是英国的诗歌之父。
George Washington is called the father of his country.乔治·华盛顿被誉为国父。
He was the father of printing.他是印刷术的鼻祖。
The wish is father to the thought.愿望为思想之父。
The child is father to the man.童年时代可决定一人之未来。

父亲同他的儿子作了一次坦率的交谈。
［误］  The parents had a man-to-man talk with his son.
［正］  The father had a man-to-man talk with his son.
［析］  parents表示“父母亲”, father只表示父亲。

［词源］  ＜中古英语fader ＜古英语fæder(父亲)