Link Centre Dictionary

paternal

pa·ter·nal

UK/pəˈtɜː.nəl/ US/pəˈtɜɹ.nəl/ uncommon rare

adjective

1.

belonging to or inherited from one''s father

  • “spent his childhood on the paternal farm”
  • “paternal traits”
2.
3.

relating to or characteristic of or befitting a parent

  • “parental guidance”
Synonyms
Antonyms
4.

related on the father''s side

  • “a paternal aunt”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

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”).

Phrases

  • paternal aunt
  • paternal cousin
  • paternal custody
  • paternal grandchild
  • paternal grandfather
  • paternal grandmother
  • paternal half aunt
  • paternal half-uncle

Related words

Word family

See also

Pertaining to

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.