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

Isaac Blankfein, my paternal great-grandfather, worked as a tailor on Delancey Street, on the Lower East Side. —CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026

Tiger parenting and paternal psychological control in China are associated with pornography use by adolescent boys, and smartphone addiction increases the risk of poor sleep among Chinese university students by 184 percent. —Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026

His paternal grandfather played basketball at Dayton and his father ran track. —Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2026

Edward Padilla has an endearing paternal presence as the innkeeper Silvano and hometown restaurant owner Napoleon. —Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026

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