paternal
UK /pəˈtɜː.nəl/ · US /pəˈtɜɹ.nəl/ adjective, noun
Forms paternals paternall
- adjective Of or pertaining to one's father, his genes, his relatives, or his side of a family. “paternal grandfather”
- adjective Fatherly; behaving as or characteristic of a father.
- adjective Received or inherited from one's father.
- adjective Acting as a father.
- noun (rare) A person related through the father, or his side of the family; a paternal relative.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Old French paternal (“of a father”) (12th c.), from Vulgar Latin paternālis (“paternal”), from Latin paternus (“of or pertaining to a father, paternal”), from pater (“father”).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Of or pertaining to a father; fatherly; showing the disposition of a father; guiding or instructing as a father; as, paternal care.
- adjective Received or derived from a father; hereditary; as, a paternal estate.
Etymology [L. paternus, fr. pater a father: cf. F. paternel. See Father.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “paternal”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details