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# godfather

noun (a godfather, godfathers)

«godfather» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (church) A godfather is a man who promises at a child's baptism or christening to help bring the child up in the Christian faith and care for them. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/godfather/#m1)
2. The founder or most important early person of something: the godfather of rock. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/godfather/#m2)
3. (informal) The boss of a criminal gang, from the film «The Godfather». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/godfather/#m3)

### In the lessons

Church life (baptism, christening), family (Uncle Tom is my godfather), music and history (godfather of something), crime films.

### Examples

- My godfather gave me a Bible when I was baptised. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/godfather/#x1)
- Uncle Joe is my godfather and sends me birthday cards. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/godfather/#x2)
- At the christening, the godfather held the baby. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/godfather/#x3)
- He is called the godfather of punk music. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/godfather/#x4)
- In the film, the godfather ran the gang. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/godfather/#x5)
- Godparents promise to pray for the child. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/godfather/#x6)
- The Russian merchant was his godfather, and the kitchen-maid his godmother. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/godfather/#x7)

### Note

Godfather and godmother together are godparents; the child is a godson or goddaughter. The gang-boss sense comes from films and is informal.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «godfather» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/godfather/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«godfather» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/godfather.html) on Mova free.