paternal

CEFRC1

/pəˈtɜː.nəl/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Related to or typical of a father.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Of or pertaining to one's father, his genes, his relatives, or his side of a family.

Examples

  • He's my father's father. He's my paternal grandpa.

  • She is my father's mother. She is my paternal grandmother.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Fatherly; behaving as or characteristic of a father.

  2. Received or inherited from one's father.

  3. Acting as a father.

More examples

In context

  • paternal grandfather

  • The eldest son was usually given the name of his paternal grandfather, later children those of other relatives.

  • 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.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

His blank instincts made him protect his daughter from harm.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

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”).