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Thesaurus: paternal

Of or pertaining to a father; fatherly; showing the disposition of a father; guiding or instructing as a father; as, paternal care.

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Definitions

  1. a. Of or pertaining to a father; fatherly; showing the disposition of a father; guiding or instructing as a father; as, paternal care.
  2. a. Received or derived from a father; hereditary; as, a paternal estate.
  3. adj. belonging to or inherited from one's father
  4. adj. characteristic of a father
  5. adj. relating to or characteristic of or befitting a parent
  6. adj. related on the father's side
  7. 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.
  8. j:100 a. belonging to or inherited from one's father a. characteristic of a father