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elation of a father to his child; fathership; fatherhood; family headship; as, the divine paternity. The world, while it had scarcity of people, underwent no other dominion than paternity and eldership. Sir W. Raleigh.

The relation of a godfather to a person. [Obs.] The relation of gossipred or compaternity by the cannon law is a spiritual affinity. Sir J. Da

An abstract term. The concretes "father" and "son" have, or might have, the abstracts "paternity" and "filiety." J. S. Mill.

To fix the paternity of; -- said of an illegitimate child; as, to affiliate the child to (or on or upon) one man rather than another.

ts; a concrete term. The concretes "father" and "son" have, or might have, the abstracts "paternity" and "filiety". J. S. Mill.

of conduct for which dyslogistic or eulogistic epithets may be found. J. F. Stephen. The paternity of dyslogistic -- no bantling, but now almost a centenarian -- is adjudged to that genius of common sense, Jeremy Bentham. Fitzed. Hall.

The state of being older; seniority. "Paternity an eldership." Sir W. Raleigh.

The state of being a father; the character or authority of a father; paternity.

The state of being a father; fatherhood; paternity.

The relationship of a son or child to a parent, esp. to a father. The relation of paternity and filiation. Sir M. Hale.

The relation of a son to a father; sonship; -- the correlative of paternity. J. S. Mill.

A son; -- used in compound names, to indicate paternity, esp. of the illegitimate sons of kings and princes of the blood; as, Fitzroy, the son of the king; Fitzclarence, the son of the duke of Clarence.