filial duty
- noun
- /ˈfɪliəl ˈdjuːti/
- Formal
:
deber filial
- His ferocity is directed against real sins: the neglect of the poor, the oppression of workers, the evasion of filial duty.
Examples
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Both rearing behaviors on the part of parents and filial duty on the part of offspring are practices of these disciplines.
Academic text (1997) -
It will be best if your conscience found solace in you doing your filial duty.
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A lively and lasting sense of filial duty is more effectually impressed on the mind of a son or daughter by reading King Lear than by all the dry volumes of ethics and divinity that were ever written.
Academic text (2014) -
Demanding a kiss from Aymery, Bertrade states, "Kiss me, my son; kiss me, King Aymery" (p. 101), emphasizing both his filial duty and his position of power.
Academic text (2017) -
She believes that caring for her aging parents is an important aspect of her filial duty.
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He demonstrated his filial duty by visiting his mother every week to ensure she was well.
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Understanding one's filial duty often involves respecting and supporting parents throughout their lives.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Something you must do because of law, your job, or what is right
524
3.2
A duty you feel to do something because it is right or someone helped you
28
4.9
A duty you feel because something is right or wrong
Antonyms
How Dutiful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning follows directly from the constituents: 'filial' (relating to a child's relation or duties to parents) modifies 'duty' (a responsibility), so the overall sense 'a child's responsibility toward parents' is transparently compositional. This adjective+noun pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a learner who knows both words will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Filial duty comes from a word that meant 'child', shown in filial, together with duty meaning a responsibility. It paints the image of a son or daughter caring for and respecting their parents, so it means 'the duty to care for and support parents'.