# paternity

> English word · Noun · IPA /pəˈtɜːnɪti/ · frequency rank #21,310

## Definitions
1. Fatherhood, the state or quality of being a father.
2. Parental descent from a father.
3. Legal acknowledgement of a man's fatherhood of a child.
4. Authorship.

## Etymology
From Middle French paternité, from Old French, from Latin paternitās (“paternity”), from paternus (“of or pertaining to a father, paternal”) + -itās, from pater (“father”).

## Common misspellings (14)
`apternity`, `paetrnity`, `patenrity`, `paterinty`, `paternitty`, `paternityy`, `paterniyt`, `paternnity`, `paterntiy`, `paterrnity`, `patrenity`, `patternity`, `ppaternity`, `ptaernity`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/paternity