Meaning

noun any man who serves as a sponsor for a child at baptism

noun someone having a relation analogous to that of a male sponsor to his godchild

originFrom 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”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0