paternity

noun

pa·ter·ni·ty | \ pə-ˈtər-nə-tē

Definition of paternity

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : the quality or state of being a father

2 : origin or descent from a father

paternity

adjective

Definition of paternity (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : granted to a father paternity leave paternity rights

2 : of or relating to the determination of paternity a paternity suit

Examples of paternity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Standard paternity leave in the U.K. is one or two weeks. — Amy Mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "When It Comes to Paternity Leave, Prince Harry Will Reportedly Follow in Prince William's Footsteps," 28 Apr. 2019 Shortstop Jean Segura returned from a three-day absence on the paternity list. — Ryan Divish, The Seattle Times, "Mariners roster moves: Jean Segura returns from paternity leave, Ben Gamel returns from Tacoma," 20 Aug. 2018 My husband was on paternity leave for two months, and fear and doubt clouded both of our minds. — Minhae Shim Roth, Glamour, "My Reward for Having a Baby? A $1,000 Gucci Bag," 7 Jan. 2019 The modern paternity of the phrase, in other words, lies with the people who wanted to kill off the T-shirt. — Tunku Varadarajan, WSJ, "The Enemy of the T-Shirt," 6 Aug. 2018 With eighth-inning specialist Kirby Yates on paternity leave until tomorrow, Andy Green called on Craig Stammen, who gave up a double to Davis to put runners at second and third. — Kevin Acee, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Luis Perdomo makes promising start, but A's sweep Padres," 4 July 2018 Father time Catcher Jeff Mathis was placed on the paternity leave list on Sunday and was replaced on the roster by slugger Christian Walker. — Nick Piecoro, azcentral, "Zack Godley gets back on track as Diamondbacks finish sweep," 10 June 2018 With Adeiny Hechavarria injured and Joey Wendle on paternity leave, the Tampa Bay Rays had a shortstop hole. — Tim Hackett, SI.com, "Top Rays Prospect Willy Adames Homers in First MLB Game," 22 May 2018 Lionel Bonaventure / Getty When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg went to Hawaii late last year while on paternity leave, photographers for the Daily Mail went into full paparazzi mode to capture the billionaire’s trip to a local burger joint. — Kurt Wagner, Recode, "Chris Cox is becoming Facebook’s most important executive not named Mark Zuckerberg," 8 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'paternity.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.