highfather
UK/ˈhaɪˌfɑː.ðə/US/ˈhaɪˌfɑː.ðɚ/
highfather noun: a respected, high-ranking male elder or leader; a patriarch; a forefather; a grandfather.
Noun
highfather (plural highfathers)
- A respected, high-ranking male elder or leader; a patriarch; a forefather; a grandfather.
- There is no active worship for the Highfather, except at meal time, when all Mischta look into the sky and offer a symbolic thanks to him, whom they call "the Grandfather."1990, Scott Haring, Scott Bennie, John Terra, Otherlands
- I do not have many powerful friends on earth, but rather they have gone forth, gone away from the joys of the world, sought for themselves the king of glory, they live now in heaven with the Highfather, dwell in glory.2003, Patrick Murray-John, The poetics of 'knowing' in Anglo-Saxon visions
Forms of highfather
| plural | highfathers |
|---|---|
| alternative form | high-father |
| alternative form | high father |
Origin of highfather
Perhaps from Middle English hehfader, heahfeder, from Old English hēahfæder (“patriarch”, literally “high-father”); or perhaps a direct revival of the Old English word. By surface analysis, high + father.
Questions about highfather
- What does highfather mean?
- Highfather means a respected, high-ranking male elder or leader; a patriarch; a forefather; a grandfather.
- What part of speech is highfather?
- Highfather is a noun.
- How do you pronounce highfather?
- Highfather is pronounced /ˈhaɪˌfɑː.ðə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of highfather?
- The plural of highfather is highfathers.
Words near highfather in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: highfather (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “highfather.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/highfather. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.