paternalis

Forms

paternālis (neuter paternāle); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin paternus (“of a father”) + -ālis,^[2][1] a Late Latin word.^[3] The base comes from pater (“father”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found in the Latin Irenaeus, where the Valentinians speak of a “paternal seed”,^[2][4] and in a corrupt passage of the gynaecological work ascribed to Vindicianus (4th century AD).^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

In Medieval Latin it meant belonging to a father, as land held by paternal right,^[3][6] and fatherly, especially of the care that a pope, archbishop, bishop or abbot owed those under him.^[3] In Poland it also meant related through the father, of a half-brother,^[7] and as a plural noun a payment due to the patron of a parish church.^[7] Neo-Latin writers used it of a father's inheritance and of a father's letter to his son.^[8] Italian paternale comes from it.^[4]

Timeline

• 4th century AD – Vindicianus uses it.^[5][2]
• c. 1335 – An English letter asks for a bishop's fatherly care.^[3]
• early 15th century – Borrowed into English, through Old French, as paternal.^[9]
• 1459 – A Polish record uses it of a half-brother on the father's side.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Late Latin) Of a father, paternal.^[2][6][3]
2. (Medieval Latin) fatherly, of a pope, bishop or abbot.^[3]
3. (Medieval Latin) Related through the father (half-).^[7]

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin, plural) A payment due to the patron of a parish church.^[7]

Related words

• pater
• English paternal

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c d e f Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b c d e Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
8. ^ Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com