parental, maternal, paternal
(adjective) relating to or characteristic of or befitting a parent; “parental guidance”
paternal
(adjective) characteristic of a father
agnate, agnatic, paternal
(adjective) related on the father’s side; “a paternal aunt”
paternal
(adjective) belonging to or inherited from one’s father; “spent his childhood on the paternal farm”; “paternal traits”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
paternal (comparative more paternal, superlative most paternal)
Of or pertaining to one's father, his genes, his relatives, or his side of a family
Fatherly; behaving as or characteristic of a father.
Received or inherited from one's father.
Acting as a father
• maternal – mother
• avuncular – uncle
• maternal – mother
• materteral – aunt
• parental, prenatal
Source: Wiktionary
Pa*ter"nal, a. Etym: [L. paternus, fr. pater a father: cf. F. 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." Milton.
2. Received or derived from a father; hereditary; as, a paternal estate. Their small paternal field of corn. Dryden. 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 afffairs.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
26 June 2025
(adverb) in a dispirited manner without hope; “the first Mozartian opera to be subjected to this curious treatment ran dispiritedly for five performances”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
