Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “paternal” come from?

Paternal comes from Old French paternal, derived from Latin paternalis, formed from Latin pater meaning father and the Latin suffix -alis.

paternal (English): Of or pertaining to one's father, his genes, his...

Definitions

  1. Of or pertaining to one's father, his genes, his...

Ancestry of “paternal”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchpaternalpaternal
2Vulgar Latinpaternalispaternal
3LatinpaternusOf or pertaining to a father, paternal, fatherly;...
4Latinpaterfather; head of household; parent
5Proto-Italicpatērfather
6Proto-Indo-Europeanph₂tḗrfather
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpeh₂-to protect; to shepherd

Words derived from “paternal”

  • paternalistic
  • paternalism
  • paternally
  • paternalist
  • paternalistically
  • grandpaternal
  • unpaternal
  • nonpaternal
  • paternalization
  • heteropaternal
  • paternalize
  • paternalise
  • unpaternally
  • homopaternal
  • paternalness
  • monopaternal
Every word from Proto-Indo-European peh₂- →