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paternity

paternity

66 5.8
The state of being a child's father
  • noun
  • /pəˈtɜrnɪti/
translation icon : paternidad
  • She filed a paternity suit to establish his legal responsibilities as a father.
  • establish paternity
  • determine paternity
  • claim paternity

The father recognized the paternity of his children.

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Examples

  • If there's any question about his past, his paternity, it's important for me to know now.

  • That same year, she brought a paternity suit against him.

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

  • Is this another paternity case?

  • The father recognized the paternity of his children.

  • If she were to become pregnant, the law would have a difficult time determining the paternity of her offspring.

    Academic text (2011)
  • State law should require the registering father to file a paternity action.

    Academic text (2002)
  • The strength of this program is that it enhances father-child ties first, and paternity establishment and child support second.

    Academic text (1997)
  • The paternity of the child was confirmed by a DNA test.

  • He was proud of his paternity and actively participated in his child's upbringing.

Synonyms

fatherhood
vspaternity
30 2.7

Being a father and caring for your children

is about legal or biological recognition as a child's parent rather than duties
filiation
vspaternity
  • Formal
9.9

A relationship between a child and their parents that the law recognizes

is limited to the male parent relationship rather than parentage in general

Compounds

paternity test
  • Specialized
17 3.5

A medical test that shows whether a man is the child's real father

4 6.0

A court case to decide who is a child's father and get child support

Time a father can take off work after a child is born or adopted

How Parental

paternity
66 5.8
caregiver
  • US
79 3.2
babysitter
234 1.0

Surface Forms

paternity singular
paternities plural

Morphology

paternity = pater (transparent) = pater + ity

The word 'paternity' is transparently derived from 'pater' with the suffix '-ity', indicating a state or condition.

Etymology

The word paternity comes from the Latin word pater, which means 'father', and you can see the same root in paternal. So paternity is the state of being a father or the father's relationship to a child.