godfather
god·father/ˈɡɑdfɑðɚ/noun, verb
godfather is spelled G-O-D-F-A-T-H-E-R: 9 letters and 2 syllables (god·father). It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, godfather means “A man present at the christening of a baby who promises to help raise the child in a Christian manner; a male godparent who sponsors the baptism of a…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of godfather is godfathers.
How many letters and syllables are in godfather?
| Letters | 9: G-O-D-F-A-T-H-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: god·father |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,228th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is godfather?
Godfather appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th 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 godfather?
- US /ˈɡɑdfɑðɚ/
- UK /ˈɡɒdfɑːðə/
Godfather has 2 syllables, split god·father in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-godfather.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of godfather
- godfathers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- godfathering participle, present
- godfathered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does godfather mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A man present at the christening of a baby who promises to help raise the child in a Christian manner; a male godparent who sponsors the baptism of a child.
- 2
Someone who plays a key role in fostering the development of something.
- 3
A mafia leader.
- 4
A small post which is used in repairing a fence. For instance attached to and supporting an existing broken fence post.
verb
- 1
To act as godfather or guardian to.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Godfather in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense man present at the christening of a baby who promises to help raise the child in:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | parrain |
| German | Pate, Firmpate, Patenonkel, Götti, Taufpate, Gevatter |
| Portuguese | padrinho |
| Spanish | padrino |
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 godfather come from?
From Middle English godfader, from Old English godfæder (“godfather”), equivalent to god- + father. Cognate with Old Saxon godfadar (“godfather”), Middle Dutch godvader (“godfather”), Danish gudfader, gudfar (“godfather”), Swedish gudfader, gudfar (“godfather”), Icelandic guðfaðir (“godfather”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).