The oracle-bone scribes drew 父 as a raised hand gripping a stone axe or rod — the tool of hard labour and the mark of authority in a Shang household. A father was, quite literally, the one who wielded the tool. The strokes today still echo that raised, gripping hand, long after the axe itself faded from view.
A piece of culture
The duty of filial piety Confucius placed respect for one's father at the center of the Five Relationships that held society together. The character for filial piety, 孝 (xiào), is itself a small picture: a child (子) supporting an elder — showing a son carrying his father on his back. For centuries, under the imperial exam system, the Classic of Filial Piety (孝经) was required study for anyone entering government service, on the belief that a son who honored his father would honor his emperor too.
Use it in a real word
父母
fùmǔ · fu6 mou5
parents — father and mother, side by side; you already know 母