FATHERLY

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Dr. Goodword
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FATHERLY

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:11 pm

• fatherly •

Pronunciation: fah-dhêr-li • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: Having the affection of a father; befitting a father or fatherhood, which is to say, kind and protective.

Notes: Today's topical Good Word is the adjective from father, found in the name of today's holiday, Father's Day. The suffix -ly converts adjectives into adverbs: quickly, happily, brightly. When added to nouns, it creates adjectives like friendly, sisterly, and today's word. If the noun refers to time, adding -ly allows it to be used as an adverb or adjective: weekly (weekly reports are written weekly), hourly, yearly. The noun is fatherliness and the adverb is the same as the adjective: fatherly.

In Play: Like motherly and motherhood, today's Good Word emphasizes all that is good in fatherhood: "I think Paris Hilton could have used a bit more fatherly guidance." (Hmmm. Maybe motherly, too.) "Fatherly heroes are hard to find in the literature and filmography of the 21st century." We hope that all the fathers reading today's Good Word are enjoying well-deserved recognition for their efforts over the year. alphaDictionary salutes you all.

Word History: Today's word probably comes from one of the first syllables uttered by babies, pa- plus the Proto-Indo-European kinship suffix -ter, also found in mother, sister, and brother. These two components alone account for Greek pater and Latin pater, while Sanskrit pitAr shows signs of some development. Latin pater trickled down to Spanish and Italian as padre, to Portuguese as pai, and to French as père. In the Germanic languages the same PIE form became English father, German Vater, plus Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish far. Russian otec, Serbian otac, and Albanian atë were borrowed from Turkic ata, seen in the name of the father of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Ataturk. The suffix is a reduction of Old English lic, today's like. We can see the process beginning again today in compounds like dream-like, tree-like, snake-like, and the likes. In Russian and other Slavic languages the same basic root emerged as lico "face", one measure of human likeness.
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Perry Lassiter
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Postby Perry Lassiter » Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:26 pm

Thanks for reminding us how -ly relates to three parts of speech. I mostly think of it as adverbial.
pl

LukeJavan8
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Postby LukeJavan8 » Sun Jun 17, 2012 12:26 pm

Happy Father's Day to those of you who are
Dads, Grandpas, GreatGrandpas', Foster Fathers,
Step Fathers and all that includes. Have a Great Day.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

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bamaboy56
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Postby bamaboy56 » Sun Jun 17, 2012 1:14 pm

My father is alive and in great health. I'm going to call him shortly to wish him a Happy Father's Day but wish to say the same to all who are fathers out there. When I was a young man I obeyed my father because I feared him. Now as an adult I still obey him, only now it's because I love him. The last time he had to take a belt to me, I was 13 years old. After he was done straightening me out, he said "You know what? You're too old to spank anymore. The next time, it's going to be a fist fight!" I honestly don't believe he would have done it but I didn't want to chance it either. At 13 I wouldn't have stood a chance. At 17 and 18, if it had come to that he still could have taken me but I could have given him a run for his money. Bottom line, at 13 I would have had to stand there and take it because I wouldn't have stood a chance. This very day if he took it into his head to punch me (I can't imagine why he would even want to), I would stand there and take it because I have too much love and respect for him. Happy Father's Day, Dad. I'm thinking of you.
Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I'm going to change myself. -- Rumi


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