paternal : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: paternal	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for paternal
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
paternal adj belonging to or inherited from one's father; "spent his childhood on the paternal farm"; "paternal traits" characteristic of a father Antonym(s): maternal relating to or characteristic of or befitting a parent; "parental guidance" Synonym(s): parental, maternal, paternal Antonym(s): filial related on the father's side; "a paternal aunt" Synonym(s): agnate, agnatic, paternal
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Paternal \Pater"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. [bd]Under paternal rule.[b8] --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.