patrilinear

9.1

Family descent that follows fathers to their sons

adjective
/ˌpætrɪˈlɪnɪər/

Specialized

: patrilineal

Many cultures recognize patrilinear descent, where lineage is traced through male ancestors.

Examples

In a patrilinear society, property and family names are passed down through the father.
Also, the sample from the Bronze Age Cave had at least three different types of haplotypes for I-M170+, so it was not a patrilinear clan as one would expect from small pockets.

Blog text (11)
Her family follows a patrilinear tradition, celebrating the achievements of their forefathers.

Synonyms

patrilineal

vspatrilinear

Specialized

1 8.5

About family descent and inheritance through the father's side

is about descent generally rather than stressing inheritance

agnatic

vspatrilinear

Specialized

9.9

Family descent traced only through the father's side

is the general term for male-line descent without technical emphasis

patrilateral

vspatrilinear

Specialized

9.6

Related to the father's side of a family

covers male-line descent more broadly beyond just the father's side

Antonyms

matrilinear

Specialized

9.8

Family descent and inheritance that follow the mother's line

Surface Forms

patrilinear positive

Morphology

patrilinear = patriline (semi-transparent) = patri + line + ar

The base 'patriline' is not a common word and its meaning may not be immediately clear to learners, but the formation with '-ar' is regular.

Etymology

Patrilinear comes from the root patri- meaning 'father', as in paternal, and the word line meaning 'line' or 'descent'. So, patrilinear describes family lines or inheritance that are passed down through the father's side.