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paternal

Pronunciation: /pəˈtəːn(ə)l/
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Definition of paternal

adjective

  • 1of or appropriate to a father:he reasserted his paternal authority
  • showing a kindness and care associated with a father; fatherly:my elders in the newsroom kept a paternal eye on me
  • 2 [attributive] related through the father:his father and paternal grandfather were porcelain painters

Derivatives

paternally

adverb

Origin:

late Middle English: from late Latin paternalis, from Latin paternus 'fatherly, belonging to a father', from pater 'father'

paternal in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of paternal in the US English dictionary

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