Paternal
Paternal , adjective
[Latin paternus, from pater a father: compare French 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.
Under paternal rule.
2.
Received or derived from a father; hereditary; as, a paternal estate.
Their small paternal field of corn.
Collocations (1)
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 affairs.