Noun: paternity pu'tur-ni-tee
- The state of being a father
"tests were conducted to determine paternity"
- The kinship relation between an offspring and the father
"His paternity was established through a court-ordered test";
- fatherhood
- The act of initiating a new idea, theory or writing
"the paternity of the theory is disputed";
- authorship
Derived forms: paternities
Type of: creation, debut, entry, family relationship, first appearance, foundation, founding, initiation, innovation, instauration, institution, introduction, kinship, launching, origination, relationship, state, unveiling
Encyclopedia: Paternity