从「父亲」说起
对于「Father」一词，
Cambridge Dictionary 的定义是：A male parent (父亲，爸爸).
Oxford Dictionary 的定义是：A man in relation to his child or children.
Merriam Webster 的定义是：A man who has begotten a child.
Wiktionary 的定义是：A (generally human) male who begets a child.
其中的 beget 其实也是「成为…的父亲(to be the father of)」的意思，另外 beget 还有更正式的用法表达「引起，导致」，例如，贫穷导致饥饿，而饥饿则导致犯罪。Poverty begets hunger, and hunger begets crime.
维基百科（Wikipedia）中则表述为：
A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations.
这里顺带对比下可能会混淆的几个词：paternal & maternal & parental
· paternal：of or like a father 父亲的；父亲般的
e.g., He's very paternal (= showing the affectionate feelings of a father) with the baby. 他对孩子充满父爱。
· maternal：behaving or feeling in the way that a mother does towards her child, especially in a kind, loving way 母亲的；母亲般的
e.g., maternal instincts 母亲的天性
· parental：relating to parents or to being a parent 父母的
e.g., parental advice/influence 父母的忠告／影响
「Father」在不同词典的解释大致相同，
而在每个人心中的定义则各不相同。
· Father
1. One person who does the work of twenty, and never gives up
2. Tough on the outside, soft inside.
父亲，内柔外刚，永不言弃。
父亲，一个人干的活顶二十个。
· Father
a male parent, protector, provider
父亲，不仅仅是是“父亲”，
是我们的“保护者”，也是我们“任何需求”的“提供者”。
Fun loving, dragon slaying, spider catching,
taxi driving, shoulder ride giving, bad joking,
remote controlling, brave, smart, bank manager
... ... our hero
父亲，是我们的英雄，也是普通人。
· Dad
holder of the wallet, keeper of advice,
dryer of tears, and fixer of all things.
小时候，以为你是超人，长大后才懂你的强撑。
如今，我愿成为你的超人！
谨以此文献给天下所有的父亲，
节日快乐！