01 a. 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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1.
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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2.
Received or derived from a father; hereditary; as, a paternal estate.“Their small paternal field of corn.” — Dryden.
Phrases & compounds
Paternal government —
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 affairs.