Definition of "paternity" []

• The state of being a father; fatherhood. (noun)
• Descent on a father's side; paternal descent. (noun)
• Authorship; origin. (noun)
• Of or relating to a lawsuit brought by a woman attempting to establish that a particular man is the father of her child and so must provide the child with financial support: paternity case; paternity suit. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Considering the numerous preferences that the law gives to mothers in paternity issues, I think that fathers can at least have one bone tossed their way."
• "Considering the numerous preferences that the law gives to mothers in paternity issues, I think that fathers can at least have one bone tossed theirway."
• "I pondered all this the other day, off for a few weeks on a short term paternity leave, as my daughter wandered around our local park, and I reviewed the Buffalo Bills 2009 schedule (impossible) and the San Francisco Giants 'starting rotation (good)."