paternity

American  

[puh-tur-ni-tee] / pəˈtɜr nɪ ti /

noun

1. the state of being a father; fatherhood.

2. derivation or acquirement from a father.

3. origin or authorship.

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adjective

1. noting or pertaining to a legal dispute in which an unwed mother accuses a man of being the father of her child.

   a paternity suit.

paternity British  

/ pəˈtɜːnɪtɪ /

noun

1. 1. the fact or state of being a father

   2. ( as modifier )

      a paternity suit was filed against the man

2. descent or derivation from a father

3. authorship or origin

   the paternity of the theory is disputed

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Etymology

Origin of paternity

1400–50; late Middle English paternite < Late Latin paternitās. See paternal, -ity

Explanation

Use the noun paternity to describe the relationship a father has to his child. You might say, "His paternity is so clear — his daughter has the same red hair that he does!" Fatherhood and the connection between a father and child is what paternity is all about, but the word most often comes up in legal situations. Attorneys use the word paternity when there is a question about who a child's biological father is or what kind of financial or legal responsibility he has. The Latin root is paternus, "relating to a father," from pater, "father."

Example Sentences

"Paternity leave is really good for gender equality, it's really good for the economy and it's really good for the whole family," Ms Brearly says.

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2024

Paternity certainty was probably an important facet of the evolutionary transition from our hominid ancestors.

From Washington Post • Jun. 17, 2022

Q. Paternity test: I’ve been married just over two years, and if you had asked me two weeks ago, I would’ve said my husband was near perfect.

From Slate • Apr. 19, 2021

Big Paternity forms partnerships with experts who double as media personalities.

From Salon • Jun. 23, 2019

As a copy of the rest of the reasons will accompany this, I do not choose to set them down here, lest I tire your very reverend Paternity, whose time is so fully occupied.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 17 of 55 1609-1616 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century by Robertson, James Alexander

Related Words

• ancestry
• birth
• descent
• lineage