Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

paternity

/pəˈtɜɹnəti/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.24 in modern English

Syllables
pa-tern-i-ty
IPA
/pəˈtɜɹnəti/
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Fatherhood, the state or quality of being a father.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Parental descent from a father.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Legal acknowledgement of a man's fatherhood of a child.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Authorship.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

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”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *peh₂-, paternité, -, paternitās

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /pəˈtɜɹnəti/
  • British English: /pəˈtɜːnɪti/

Usage

Inflected Forms

paternities (plural)

Derived Forms

grandpaternity heteropaternity nonpaternity primipaternity

Phrases

paternity leave paternity suit paternity test

Frequently Paired Words

affiliation maternity

Synonyms

authorship fatherhood

Rhymes With

maternity eternity fraternity quaternity

Questions

How do you pronounce paternity?
The recorded pronunciation is /pəˈtɜɹnəti/.
What does paternity mean?
Fatherhood, the state or quality of being a father.
Where does paternity come from?
It is traced to Middle French.

How to pronounce paternity

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “paternity”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/pəˈtɜɹnəti/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “paternity”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “paternity” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.