| Paternal 1. (a.) Pertaining to a father; fatherly; showing the disposition of a father; guiding or instructing as a father; as, paternal care. 2. (a.) Received or derived from a father; hereditary; as, a paternal estate. Thesaurus Entries adoring, affectionate, ancestorial, ancestral, concerned, conjugal, demonstrative, devoted, faithful, fatherlike, fatherly, filial, fond, grandfatherly, grandmotherly, grandparental, husbandly, indulgent, kindly, languishing, lovelorn, lovesick, lovesome, loving, maternal, melting, mother, motherlike, motherly, parent, parental, patriarchal, patrilateral, patrilineal, patrilinear, patrimonial, romantic, sentimental, soft, solicitous, tender, uxorious, wifely |