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

He was raised by his paternal grandparents Bardot and Charrier divorced in 1962 and Nicholas went on to primarily live with his father’s parents. —Julie Tremaine, PEOPLE, 28 Dec. 2025

Lilly Denes, Melodee’s paternal grandmother, told reporters outside the courthouse in Santa Barbara County that she was outraged by Buzzard’s not-guilty plea. —Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 26 Dec. 2025

Melodee’s paternal family was in court Friday, watching as Buzzard pleaded not guilty. —Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 26 Dec. 2025

But over the past 15 years or so, the evidence for some kind of non-DNA inheritance of paternal experience has also been strengthening. —Ivan Amato, Quanta Magazine, 22 Dec. 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