# godfather

Pronunciation: US say "GOD-fah-thur" /ˈɡɑdfɑðɚ/; UK say "GOD-fah-thuh" /ˈɡɒdfɑːðə/

## Noun

1. A man who sponsors a child at baptism, promising to help raise the child in the Christian faith.
   - Simple: A man who promises at a baby's baptism to help raise the child in the Christian faith.
   - _At the christening, her godfather pledged to support her Christian upbringing._
   - _He served as godfather to all three of his sister's children._
2. The boss who leads a mafia family, holding authority over its members and criminal operations.
   - Simple: The head of a mafia family or organized crime group.
   - _The godfather settled disputes between rival families without ever raising his voice._
   - _After years of investigation, agents brought down the city's most powerful godfather._
3. A person regarded as the founder or driving force behind a movement, genre, or field.
   - Simple: A person who helped start something important and helped it grow.
   - _Critics hailed him as the godfather of the entire punk movement._
   - _Many regard her as the godfather of computer animation._
5. A short post attached alongside a broken or failing fence post to brace and support it.
   - Simple: A short post fixed next to a broken fence post to hold it up.
   - _Rather than replace the rotten post, he bolted a godfather beside it._
   - _The repaired fence held firm once a godfather was driven in._

## Verb

4. To take on the role of guardian or sponsor for someone or something, guiding its growth.
   - Simple: To act as a guardian who helps guide and support someone or something.
   - _A senior professor offered to godfather the fledgling research group._
   - _He godfathered several young artists who later became famous._

## Origin

From Middle English godfader, from Old English godfæder, equivalent to god- plus father. It is related to words like Old Saxon godfadar, Middle Dutch godvader, Danish gudfar, Swedish gudfar, and Icelandic guðfaðir.

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