English
paternal
Paternal comes from Old French paternal ‘of a father’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ph₂tḗr‘father’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*patēr‘father’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpater‘father’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpaternus‘of or pertaining to a father, paternal’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEpaternālis
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400paternal‘of a father’
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1701same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ph₂tḗr‘father’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*patēr‘father’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpater‘father’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpaternus‘of or pertaining to a father, paternal’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEpaternālis
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400paternal‘of a father’
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1701same form
Earliest quotation: a. 1701, John Dryden, The Second Epode of Horace: “Thus, ere the ſeeds of vice were ſown, /…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- ‘to protect, to ward’
company, food, pain, feed, pope, apparent, fur, companion, foster, pastor, penetration, fad, pasture, fodder, forage, accompaniment, papal, panini, patrician, fatherly, pav, pantaloons, pannier, 59 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr ‘father’
through Proto-Italic *patēr ‘father’
through Latin pater ‘father’
papa, pattern, patron, perpetrator, padre, père, patrimony, perpetrate, compere, 19 more
Today it means
adj Of or pertaining to one's father, his genes, his relatives, or his side of a family.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr / paternal