paternal

4 definitions • 6 examples

typical of or like a father, especially a kind father:

He's very paternal with the baby.

paternal authority

coming from or relating to someone's father or his side of the family:

My paternal grandparents (= my father's parents) were Irish.

A general mixing of maternal and paternal genes occurs at conception.

behaving or feeling as a father does toward his child:

His father gave him a good-humored, paternal smile.

Paternal also means related by way of the father:

paternal grandparents