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

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

Those that were related tended to share maternal rather than paternal ancestry. —Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 July 2025

Father's Day – the annual holiday celebrating dads, father figures and other paternal bonds – is in June. —Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 2 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