Meaning & use
pater
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Meaning
nounsingularold-fashionedinformalBritishhumorous
A playful or dated word for a person's father, associated with English public schools and upper-class speech.
Grammar: Used like a name or title, often with the or my: my pater, the pater.
Patterns
- my pater
- the pater
I must ask the pater whether I may borrow the car this weekend.
In the old school novel, Hugo wrote home to say his pater was paying the fees.
Her brother still calls their father the pater, and he does it with a grin.
Common combinations
- my pater
- My pater would never approve of such a plan.
- the pater and mater
- He was dining with the pater and mater on Sunday.
- ask the pater
- You had better ask the pater before you promise anything.
- pater familias
- The pater familias sat at the head of the long table.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dad
- Dad is the ordinary, warm everyday word, whereas pater sounds jokey, dated, and upper-class.
- father
- Father is neutral and fits any context, while pater is a slangy, affected alternative.
- old man
- Old man is casual and can sound disrespectful or affectionate, but pater sounds more clipped and posh.
Opposites
Word family
- mater noun
- the matching dated slang word for mother
- paternal adjective
- relating to a father
- paternity noun
- the state of being a father
- paternalism noun
- treating people like children by controlling their choices for their own good
Commonly confused: pater or pate?
pater vs pate
Pate (pronounced like the first syllable of paper) is a food paste or an old word for the head; it is not related to fathers.
Practice
Which sentence would sound most natural in a comic novel about an English boarding school from the 1930s?
Choose one answer.
Pater is a dated, jokey word meaning one's own father, so only the first sentence fits. The other options use it as a general word for a leader, a parent in neutral prose, or a gift, none of which is right.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pater”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.