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# paternal

«paternal» in Mova's school dictionary: **Like a father or to do with being a father: caring and…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

adjective (paternal)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Like a father or to do with being a father: caring and protective. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paternal/#m1)

2) Related through your father: "my paternal grandmother" is your father's mother. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paternal/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In family trees, paternal relatives are on your father's side; maternal relatives are on your mother's side. In science, some animals show paternal care, like male seahorses carrying the eggs. In stories, a paternal teacher or king cares for others like a father.

### examples

- My paternal grandparents live in Scotland. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paternal/#x1)
- Male seahorses show amazing paternal care. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paternal/#x2)
- The old captain had a paternal feeling for his young crew. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paternal/#x3)
- Paternal leave lets dads stay at home with a new baby. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paternal/#x4)
- My paternal aunt is my dad's sister. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paternal/#x5)
- Emperor penguin fathers are very paternal; they keep the egg warm. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paternal/#x6)
- As the father of men, he takes a paternal interest in the actions and well-being of mortals. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paternal/#x7)

### note

Opposite side: maternal (mother's side). Noun: paternity (being a father; paternity leave). Paternal is an adjective; you cannot say "a paternal" as a noun.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «paternal» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paternal/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.