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Definition of Paternal - 4 dictionary results
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pa⋅ter⋅nal

  [puh-tur-nl]
Use Paternal in a Sentence
–adjective
1. characteristic of or befitting a father; fatherly: a kind and paternal reprimand.
2. of or pertaining to a father.
3. related on the father's side: one's paternal grandfather.
4. derived or inherited from a father: paternal traits.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME < LL paternālis, equiv. to L patern(us) paternal (pater father + -nus adj. suffix) + -ālis -al 1

Related forms:
pa⋅ter⋅nal⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. See fatherly.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pa·ter·nal   (pə-tûr'nəl)   
adj.  

  1. Relating to or characteristic of a father or fatherhood; fatherly.

  2. Received or inherited from a father: a paternal trait.

  3. Related through one's father: my paternal aunt.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin paternālis, from Latin paternus, from pater, father; see pəter- in Indo-European roots.]
pa·ter'nal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

paternal 
c.1433, from O.Fr. paternal "of a father" (12c.), from M.L. paternalis, from L. paternus "of a father," from pater (see father). Paternalism "government as by a father over his children" is first recorded 1881; paternalistic was in use by 1890.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

paternal pa·ter·nal (pə-tûr'nəl)
adj.

  1. Relating to or characteristic of a father or fatherhood.

  2. Received or inherited from a father.

  3. Related through one's father.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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