paternal

adjective

pa·​ter·​nal pə-ˈtər-nᵊl 

1

a

: of or relating to a father

offered his children some paternal advice

paternal responsibilities

b

: like that of a father

paternal benevolence

2

: received or inherited from one's male parent

lived and worked on his paternal farm

3

: related through one's father

paternal grandfather

paternally

pə-ˈtər-nᵊl-ē 

adverb

Examples of paternal in a Sentence

He did not neglect his paternal responsibilities after the divorce.

Recent Examples on the Web

Ryan spent that day with his paternal grandparents. —Georgina Dinardo, NBC news, 19 July 2025

Indeed, the white streak runs in Lightly's paternal side of the family, and Lightly is thought to be the seventh or eighth generation with it. —Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 July 2025

But the acquisition of Carreras — who was known by his paternal surname, Hernandez, while coming through at Manchester United — blurs those lines. —Thom Harris, New York Times, 11 July 2025

For nearly a year leading up to the couple’s arrest, their child’s paternal grandmother had been contacting the Tulare County Department of Health reporting concerns about the baby’s welfare. —Sean Emery, Oc Register, 3 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin paternalis, from Latin paternus paternal, from pater

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for paternal

• diurnal
• eternal
• external
• fraternal
• infernal
• internal
• maternal
• nocturnal
• pimpernel
• colonel
• journal
• kernel

Kids Definition

paternal

adjective

pa·​ter·​nal pə-ˈtərn-ᵊl 

1

: fatherly

paternal advice

2

: received or inherited from one's father

3

: related through the father

a paternal grandfather

paternally

-ᵊl-ē 

adverb

Etymology

from Latin paternalis "fatherly," from earlier paternus (same meaning), from pater "father" — related to padre, patron, pattern