Paternal
adj, noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A person related through the father, or his side of the family; a paternal relative. rare
"Divide what? The estate that came from the father to the son. Amongst whom? The paternal brothers. If it means, that paternals and maternals shall now divide, as paternals formerly did, the whole sentence operates nothing; for without, the half blood on both sides, would have taken. But say it establishes a well-known standard to divide by, and that this standard excludes the maternals, then every word, as well as this word "only," has a material effect and energy."
- 1 Of or pertaining to one's father, his genes, his relatives, or his side of a family.
"paternal grandfather"
- 2 Of or pertaining to one's father, his genes, his relatives, or his side of a family.; Fatherly; behaving as or characteristic of a father.
- 3 Of or pertaining to one's father, his genes, his relatives, or his side of a family.; Received or inherited from one's father.
"Thus, ere the ſeeds of vice were ſown, / Liv'd men in better ages born, / Who plow'd with oxen of their own / Their ſmall paternal field of corn."
- 4 Of or pertaining to one's father, his genes, his relatives, or his side of a family.; Acting as a father.
- 1 relating to or characteristic of or befitting a parent wordnet
- 2 characteristic of a father wordnet
- 3 related on the father's side wordnet
- 4 belonging to or inherited from one's father wordnet
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"He's my father's father. He's my paternal grandpa."
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”).
Related phrases
More for "paternal"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.