dad

verb, noun — 11 senses

dad

verbalso spelled DAD

/dæd/

Etymology

From Early Modern English dadd, dadde (circa 1500), undoubtedly older, from unrecorded Middle English *dadde, of uncertain ultimate origin. Compare West Frisian deite (“dad, daddy”), Swabian Dede (“Godfather”). * Perhaps of Celtic origin, compare Welsh and Breton tad (from Proto-Brythonic *tad), Old Irish data; and possibly related to Russian дя́дя (djádja, “uncle”) and/or Russian де́душка (déduška, “grandfather”), all imitative. In Welsh, when subject to soft mutation (which occurs in vocative contexts, among others), tad becomes dad. * Perhaps imitative of a child's first uttered syllables da, da. * Possibly from a metathetic variation of a hypothetical Old English *ætta, *atta (“father”), from Proto-West Germanic *attō, from Proto-Germanic *attô ("father, forefather"; whence also North Frisian ate, aatj, taatje, tääte (“father; dad”), Middle High German tate (“father, dad”) (whence German Tate (“dad”), Bavarian tatte (“dad”), Cimbrian tatta (“dad”)), Icelandic táta (“dad”)), from Proto-Indo-European *átta (“father”), whence Sanskrit तत (tata, “father”).

1

To be a father to; to parent.

2

To act like a dad.

DAD

noun
1

A designation on prerecorded compact discs indicating that the contents were recorded in digital but mixed in analog before being mastered to a digital medium.

Sound engineering

2

Medicine, Sciences Abbreviation, Acronym Acronym of diffuse alveolar damage.

3

Lifestyle Abbreviation, Acronym, Slang Acronym of Dutch angel dragon.

dad

noun
Etymology

From Early Modern English dadd, dadde (circa 1500), undoubtedly older, from unrecorded Middle English *dadde, of uncertain ultimate origin. Compare West Frisian deite (“dad, daddy”), Swabian Dede (“Godfather”). * Perhaps of Celtic origin, compare Welsh and Breton tad (from Proto-Brythonic *tad), Old Irish data; and possibly related to Russian дя́дя (djádja, “uncle”) and/or Russian де́душка (déduška, “grandfather”), all imitative. In Welsh, when subject to soft mutation (which occurs in vocative contexts, among others), tad becomes dad. * Perhaps imitative of a child's first uttered syllables da, da. * Possibly from a metathetic variation of a hypothetical Old English *ætta, *atta (“father”), from Proto-West Germanic *attō, from Proto-Germanic *attô ("father, forefather"; whence also North Frisian ate, aatj, taatje, tääte (“father; dad”), Middle High German tate (“father, dad”) (whence German Tate (“dad”), Bavarian tatte (“dad”), Cimbrian tatta (“dad”)), Icelandic táta (“dad”)), from Proto-Indo-European *átta (“father”), whence Sanskrit तत (tata, “father”).

1

Informal A father, a male parent.

  • His dad was always there for him.
  • A lot of the power for dads comes in the form of modeling. As much as dads can teach their sons directly and guide them in the world, they also provide an example of who their children can aim to be as they grow up, Singley said. “There are going to be the times when as the dad I’m going to screw up,” he said.2025 June 15, Madeline Holcombe, “How to be a dad to sons today, according to experts”, in CNN:
2

Used to address one's father; often capitalized.

  • Happy Father's Day, dad!
3

Slang Used to address an older adult male.

Derived terms
42 termsballet dad, bank of mum and dad, biodad, bonus dad, dad-blamed, dad bod, dadbod, dad burn, dad-burned, dadchelor party, dadcore, dad dancer, dad dancing, dad-dancing, daddish, dadhood, dadication, dad joke, dadless, dadlike, dadly, dadness, dadpreneur, dadrock, dadship, dad shower, dadsplain, dadvice, deadbeat dad, do-dad, doo-dad, eagle dad, granddad, ho-dad, Instadad, insta-dad, seahorse dad, soccer dad, stay-at-home dad, stepdad, superdad, weekend dad
Related terms
da, dada, daddio, daddy, grandpappy, mum, mom, sire

dad

verb

Etymology From dade (“to strike heavily”), dade (“a heavy blow or thud”). Probably onomatopoeic.

1

To throw against something; to dash.

dad

noun

Etymology From dade (“to strike heavily”), dade (“a heavy blow or thud”). Probably onomatopoeic.

1

A lump or piece.

2

A blow; act of striking something.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for dad and DAD.