Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Paternity

Paternity , noun

[Latin paternitas: compare French paternité. See Paternal.]

1.
The relation of a father to his child; fathership; fatherhood; family headship; as, the divine paternity.
The world, while it had scarcity of people, underwent no other dominion than paternity and eldership. — Sir W. Raleigh
2.
Derivation or descent from a father; male parentage; as, the paternity of a child.
3.
Origin; authorship.
The paternity of these novels was... disputed. — Sir W. Scott