English – Big Daddy of Languages

What do we mean when we say English is the big daddy of languages?

We often see references to big daddy in the U.S. media.

Big daddy means a preeminent person by reason of seniority, power or size. For example, a journalist may write: Muhammad Ali was the big daddy of boxing.

In the figurative sense, big daddy is used to describe something that is the largest, most powerful, or most important of its kind. It can refer to influential people, dominant organizations, or even significant objects.

So in the figurative sense, we can say English is the big daddy of languages.

By the way, the term daddy is a popular suffix in English as we can see by the following examples:

• Sugar Daddy: an older man taking care of a younger person (usually a younger woman) and paying for her expenses
  Example: Meenakshi’s dire financial condition led her to long for a sugar daddy who’d pamper her with nice meals in fancy restaurants, expensive jewelry and fashionable dresses.
• Mac daddy: A man who is very successful, stylish, or a "ladies' man"
  Example: Manish fancies himself as the mac daddy of his neighborhood.
• Deadbeat daddy: A father who neglects his responsibilities, especially financial ones
  Example: My cousin Harish Manchanda is a deadbeat daddy, forever late on his child-support payments.
• War daddy: A tough, experienced soldier or a highly aggressive football player
  Example: The veteran was a true war daddy during the campaign.
• Dog daddy: A man devoted to his pet dog
  Example: Deepak is a proud dog daddy who takes his husky everywhere.
• Plant daddy: A man skilled at and obsessed with raising indoor plants
  Example: Shekhar’s apartment looks like a mini-jungle because he’s a dedicated plant daddy.
• Sky daddy: A slang/irreverent term for a deity or God
  Example: A favorite sky daddy for Hindus is Lord Ganesh.
• Who’s your daddy: A phrase used to assert dominance or superiority
  Example: After hitting a six, the Indian batsman yelled at the Pakistani bowler: Who’s your daddy.
• Stepdaddy: stepfather
• Granddaddy: grandfather