Paternal
/pəˈtɜː.nəl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjOf or pertaining to one's father, his genes, his relatives, or his side of a family.
adjOf or pertaining to one's father, his genes, his relatives, or his side of a family., Fatherly; behaving as or characteristic of a father.
Sentence Examples
He's my father's father. He's my paternal grandpa.
She is my father's mother. She is my paternal grandmother.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
His ____ instincts made him protect his daughter from harm.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He felt a strong ____ instinct when he first held his newborn daughter in his arms.
Word Origin & History
From Old French paternal (“of a father”) (12th c.), from Vulgar Latin paternālis (“paternal”), from Latin paternus (“of or pertaining to a father, paternal”), from pater (“father”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It was with a natural touch of pride that Norbourne Courtenaye paced his paternal hall, while waiting for his uncle, with whom he was going to ride."
— 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Different Views of Youth and Age”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 93:
"The eldest son was usually given the name of his paternal grandfather, later children those of other relatives."
— 1945, E[lizabeth] G[idley] Withycombe, “Introduction”, in The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page xiii:
"Thus, ere the ſeeds of vice were ſown, / Liv'd men in better ages born, / Who plow'd with oxen of their own / Their ſmall paternal field of corn."
— a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “The Second Epode of Horace”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume II, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, →OCLC, page 477:
"Divide what? The estate that came from the father to the son. Amongst whom? The paternal brothers. If it means, that paternals and maternals shall now divide, as paternals formerly did, the whole sentence operates nothing; for without, the half blood on both sides, would have taken. But say it establishes a well-known standard to divide by, and that this standard excludes the maternals, then every word, as well as this word "only," has a material effect and energy."
— 1826 January, John Haywood, Judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court, “Jane C. Butler v. James M. King”, in George S. Yerger, William Frierson Cooper, editors, Tennessee Reports. Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Tennessee, new edition, volume II, St. Louis, Mo.: G. I. Jones and Company, published 1876, →OCLC, page 109:
"If there are both paternal and maternal uncles and aunts, the maternals take a third, even if there is only one of them, and whether male or female, and the paternals two-thirds, even though there is only one of them, and whether male or female. If the maternals are of one kind, a male has the portion of two females."
— 1869, Neil B[enjamin] E[dmonstone] Baillie, “Of Inheritance by ‘Nusub’ or Consanguinity”, in A Digest of Moohummudan Law on the Subjects to which It is Usually Applied by British Courts of Justice in India. Compiled and Translated from Authorities in the Original Arabic, part 2nd (Containing the Doctrine of the Imameea Code of Jurisprudence […]), London: Smith Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, page 286:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
His ____ instincts made him protect his daughter from harm.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He felt a strong ____ instinct when he first held his newborn daughter in his arms.