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paternity test

paternity test

17 3.5
A medical test that shows whether a man is the child's real father
  • noun
  • /pəˈtɜrnɪti tɛst/
  • Specialized
translation icon : prueba de paternidad
  • He agreed to take a paternity test to confirm whether he is the biological father of the child.
  • take a paternity test
  • paternity test results
  • get a paternity test

That that is Kevin, if you believe paternity tests.

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Examples

  • Results of a recent survey indicate that more than one in ten (11 percent) adults ages 18 years and older said they have personally been in a situation where a paternity test was appropriate, and nearly one in five (18 percent) said that they or a close friend or family member have questioned paternity.

    Blog text (22)
  • So the paternity test came back and she's this baby is not yours.

  • So we're still waiting on the paternity test then.

  • There must be somewhere she can stay until the paternity test.

  • I just came from a paternity test.

  • Better get a paternity test.

  • I want a paternity test.

  • You knew going into this the paternity test could prove that you were the father.

  • What if a paternity test reveals that you are not the father?

    Blog text (24)
  • It is estimated that over 500,000 paternity tests are performed annually by AABB-accredited laboratories.

    Blog text (22)

Surface Forms

Morphology

paternity + test

The meaning 'a medical test to determine whether a man is the biological father' is directly and compositionally derivable from 'paternity' (fatherhood) + 'test' (an examination). This noun–noun compound follows common semantic composition patterns and has clear parallels in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand it.

Etymology

Paternity test comes from two plain parts: paternity meaning 'fatherhood' and test meaning 'a check'. People picture two small samples of blood or DNA being compared to see if a man's DNA matches the child's, so the phrase means 'a medical test to find out if a man is the child's real father'.