# dad

Pronunciation: say "DAD" /dæd/

## Noun

1. Informal word for a father, also used as a name when speaking to your own father. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: An everyday word for father, also used when you speak to him.
   - _My dad coached my soccer team for three seasons._
   - _Their dad drove them to school every morning._
3. A slang term used to address an older adult male, often with friendly familiarity. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A friendly slang word used when speaking to an older man.
   - _The bouncer stopped a gray-haired man he had never seen before and said, 'Sorry, dad, it's a private party tonight.'_
   - _At the bus stop, a young guy nodded to the older stranger beside him and asked, 'Long wait today, huh, dad?'_

## Verb

2. To act as a father to someone, or to behave in the way typical of a father, such as giving advice or making corny jokes.
   - Simple: To act like a father, such as caring for a child or making silly dad jokes.
   - _He dadded his way through the camping trip, checking the tents twice and telling the worst jokes._
   - _Whenever we go hiking, Mark can't help but dad the whole group, handing out snacks and checking everyone's shoelaces._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A lump or a piece of some material.
- (noun) An act of striking, or the blow that results.
- (verb) To throw something against another thing; to hurl or dash it down.
- (noun) The name of the Arabic letter ض, also spelled daad.

## Origin

First recorded in Early Modern English as "dadd" (around 1500) and certainly older, from an unrecorded Middle English form of uncertain ultimate origin. It may be of Celtic origin (compare Welsh and Breton "tad"), or simply imitative of a child's first syllables "da, da," or possibly linked to a Germanic word for "father" seen in words like German "Tate."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/dad (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).