fatherly
/ˈfɑðɚli/adjective, adverb
fatherly is spelled F-A-T-H-E-R-L-Y: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,073rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, fatherly means “Characteristic of what is considered the ideal behaviour pertaining to fatherhood” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in fatherly?
| Letters | 8: F-A-T-H-E-R-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 47,073rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is fatherly?
Fatherly appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,073rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce fatherly?
- UK /ˈfɑːðəli/
- US /ˈfɑðɚli/
Fatherly has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-fatherly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of fatherly
- more fatherly comparative
- most fatherly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does fatherly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Characteristic of what is considered the ideal behaviour pertaining to fatherhood.
fatherly advice
- 2
Befitting of a father; protective, paternal.
adverb
- 1
In a way pertaining to, befitting, or of a father.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Fatherly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense characteristic of what is considered the ideal behaviour pertaining to fatherhoo:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does fatherly come from?
From Middle English faderly, from Old English fæderlīċ (“fatherly, paternal”), from Proto-West Germanic *faderlīk, from Proto-Germanic *fadurlīkaz (“fatherly, paternal”), equivalent to father + -ly. Cognate with West Frisian faderlik (“fatherly”), Dutch vaderlijk (“fatherly”), German väterlich (“fatherly”), Danish faderlig (“fatherly”), Swedish faderlig (“fatherly”), Icelandic föðurlegur (“fatherly”) . Doublet of fatherlike.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).