myEtymology.com: French etymology of paternal

Etymology of the French word paternal

the Old French word paternal

derived from the Latin word paternalis

derived from the Latin word paternus (father's, paternal; ancestral)

derived from the Late Latin word pater (father)

derived from the Greek word pater, πατήρ (father; a 'father' (literally or figuratively, near or more remote))

using the Proto-Indo-European prefix pəter- (father)

Word found in Old French