---
title: godfather — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «godfather» in the school dictionary: 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. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# godfather

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** godfather, man, Uncle Joe, Godparents, Russian merchant · **What happens:** be, promise, christen, help, bring up, care · **To what, where:** man, baptism, child, Christian faith, Bible, I · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«godfather» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [godfather in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/godfather.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: church — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
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.

<!-- fold The tree, 28 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:godfather:m1:1
# text = 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.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	godfather	godfather	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	promises	promise	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	at	at	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	child	child	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	's	's	PART	POS	_	10	case	_	_
12	baptism	baptism	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	christening	christen	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	12	conj	_	_
15	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
16	help	help	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	14	xcomp	_	_
17	bring	bring	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	xcomp	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	child	child	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obj	_	_
20	up	up	ADP	RP	_	17	compound:prt	_	_
21	in	in	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
22	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
23	Christian	Christian	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	24	amod	_	_
24	faith	faith	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obl	_	_
25	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	26	cc	_	_
26	care	care	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	17	conj	_	_
27	for	for	ADP	IN	_	28	case	_	_
28	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	26	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a godfather | a man |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **promise** *speech: promise* | present | a man |  |  | a child's baptism |  |  | vn promise-37.13 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **christen** | gerund | a man *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **help** | to-infinitive | a man *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 5 | **bring up** | infinitive | a man *not said here* | the child |  | the Christian faith |  |  | vn remedy-45.7 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent child=Patient |
| 6 | **care** | infinitive | a man *not said here* |  |  |  |  | for them *= they* | vn caring-75.2-2 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent for they=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The founder or most important early person of something: the godfather of rock.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:godfather:m2:1
# text = The founder or most important early person of something: the godfather of rock.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	founder	founder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
4	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	5	advmod	_	_
5	important	important	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
6	early	early	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	12	punct	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	godfather	godfather	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	appos	_	_
13	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	rock	rock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: informal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The boss of a criminal gang, from the film «The Godfather».

<!-- fold The tree, 11 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:godfather:m3:1
# text = The boss of a criminal gang, from the film «The Godfather».
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	boss	boss	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	criminal	criminal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	gang	gang	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	from	from	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	film	film	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
11	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	Godfather	Godfather	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My godfather gave me a Bible when I was baptised.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:godfather:x1:1
# text = My godfather gave me a Bible when I was baptised.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	godfather	godfather	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	iobj	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	Bible	Bible	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	iobj	_	_
7	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	10	mark	_	_
8	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
9	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux:pass	_	_
10	baptised	baptise	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | My godfather |  | a Bible |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent i=Recipient bible=Theme |
| 2 | **baptise** | past · passive |  | I |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Uncle Joe is my godfather and sends me birthday cards.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:godfather:x2:1
# text = Uncle Joe is my godfather and sends me birthday cards.
1	Uncle	Uncle	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	Joe	Joe	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	godfather	godfather	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	sends	send	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
8	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	_
9	birthday	birthday	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	cards	card	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Uncle Joe | my godfather |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **send** | present | Uncle Joe *not said here* | birthday cards | me |  |  |  | vn send-11.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent i=Destination card=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
At the christening, the godfather held the baby.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:godfather:x3:1
# text = At the christening, the godfather held the baby.
1	At	at	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	christening	christening	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	godfather	godfather	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	held	hold	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	baby	baby	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hold** | past | the godfather | the baby |  | the christening |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent baby=Theme at christening=Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He is called the godfather of punk music.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:godfather:x4:1
# text = He is called the godfather of punk music.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	godfather	godfather	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	xcomp	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	punk	punk	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	music	music	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | present · passive |  | He |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: subject=Recipient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the film, the godfather ran the gang.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:godfather:x5:1
# text = In the film, the godfather ran the gang.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	film	film	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	godfather	godfather	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	ran	run	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	gang	gang	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **run** | past | the godfather | the gang |  | the film |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V NP PP.trajectory»: agent=Agent gang=Theme in film=Trajectory |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Godparents promise to pray for the child.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:godfather:x6:1
# text = Godparents promise to pray for the child.
1	Godparents	godparent	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	promise	promise	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	pray	pray	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	child	child	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **promise** *speech: promise* | present | Godparents |  |  |  |  |  | vn promise-37.13 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **pray** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | Godparents *not said here* |  |  |  |  | for the child | vn long-32.2 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Pivot for child=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Russian merchant was his godfather, and the kitchen-maid his godmother.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:godfather:x7:1
# text = The Russian merchant was his godfather, and the kitchen-maid his godmother.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	Russian	Russian	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	merchant	merchant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	godfather	godfather	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
10	kitchen	kitchen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	maid	maid	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
13	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	14	nmod:poss	_	_
14	godmother	godmother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | the Russian merchant | his godfather and the kitchen maid |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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