paternal Copy link Outline 1. păternus (usu. belonging to a father)2. patrius (like a father; also, belonging to a father) • paternal: 1. păternus (usu. belonging to a father): p. and ancestral goods, bona p. et avita, Cic. Coel. 14: p. domains, p. regna, Virg. Aen. 3, 121: Hor. Also = like a father, fatherly (patrius): Hor. Od. 2, 2, 6. 2. patrius (like a father; also, belonging to a father): a p. disposition (affection) for children, animus p. in liberos, Cic. R. Am. 16, 46: Liv.: p. estate and house, p. fundus larque, Hor. S. 1, 2, 56: Cic.