paternity test
- noun
- /pəˈtɜrnɪti tɛst/
- Specialized
- 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.
- That that is Kevin, if you believe paternity tests.
- And it's like, buddy, there's paternity tests.
Examples
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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.
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So we're still waiting on the paternity test then.
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There must be somewhere she can stay until the paternity test.
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I just came from a paternity test.
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Better get a paternity test.
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I want a paternity test.
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You knew going into this the paternity test could prove that you were the father.
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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
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'.