Patrilineal
adj
adj ·5 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Pertaining to descent through male lines. not-comparable
"The Xhosa are a proud and patrilineal people with an expressive and euphonious language and an abiding belief in the importance of laws, education and courtesy."
Adjective
- 1 based on or tracing descent through the male line wordnet
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"Around 20% of Spaniards today have direct patrilineal descent from Sephardic Jews."
Etymology
From patri- + lineal. Coined by British government anthropologist Northcote Whitridge Thomas in 1904 along with matrilineal.