Definitions for: Paternal

[adj] relating to or characteristic of or befitting a parent; "parental guidance"
[adj] characteristic of a father
[adj] belonging to or inherited from one's father; "spent his childhood on the paternal farm"; "paternal traits"

Webster (1913) Definition: Pa*ter"nal, a. [L. paternus, fr. pater a father: cf.
F. paternel. See Father.]
1. Of or pertaining to a father; fatherly; showing the
disposition of a father; guiding or instructing as a
father; as, paternal care. ``Under paternal rule.''
--Milton.

2. Received or derived from a father; hereditary; as, a
paternal estate.

Their small paternal field of corn. --Dryden.

Paternal government (Polit. Science), the assumption by the
governing power of a quasi-fatherly relation to the
people, involving strict and intimate supervision of their
business and social concerns, upon the theory that they
are incapable of managing their own afffairs.

Synonyms: fatherlike, fatherly, maternal, parental, paternalistic

Antonyms: filial

See Also: patriarchal

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