pater familias

See also: paterfamilias

English

Noun

pater familias

1. Alternative spelling of paterfamilias

Latin

Alternative forms

• pater familiae
• paterfamilias
• paterfamiliae

Etymology

From pater (“father”) + familiās, an archaic genitive of familia (“family", "household”), literally meaning "father of the family" or "father of the household".

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈpa.ter faˈmi.li.aːs/, [ˈpät̪ɛr fäˈmɪlʲiäːs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpa.ter faˈmi.li.as/, [ˈpäːt̪er fäˈmiːliäs]

Noun

pater familiās m (genitive patris familiās, feminine māter familiās); third declension

1. head of household

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	pater familiās	patrēs familiās patrēs familiārum
Genitive	patris familiās	patrum familiās patrum familiārum
Dative	patrī familiās	patribus familiās patribus familiārum
Accusative	patrem familiās	patrēs familiās patrēs familiārum
Ablative	patre familiās	patribus familiās patribus familiārum
Vocative	pater familiās	patrēs familiās patrēs familiārum

Descendants

• → French: père de famille (calque)
• Italian: padrefamiglia;

→ Italian: padre di famiglia (calque)

• → Portuguese: pai de família (calque)
• → Sicilian: patri di famigghia (calque)
• → Spanish: padre de familia (calque)

Further reading

• “pater familias”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers