| the male head of family or tribe | (New Testament) husband of Mary and (in Christian belief) the foster father of Jesus |
| any of the early biblical characters regarded as fathers of the human race | (Old Testament) the 11th son of Jacob and one of the 12 patriarchs of Israel; Jacob gave Joseph a coat of many colors, which made his brothers jealous and they sold him into slavery in Egypt |
| title for the heads of the Eastern Orthodox Churches (in Istanbul and Alexandria and Moscow and Jerusalem) | leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904) |
| a man who is older and higher in rank than yourself | |