paternity
noun
[ pəˈtəːnɪti ]
• (especially in legal contexts) the state of being someone's father.
• "he refused to admit paternity of the child"
• paternal origin.
• "his enemies made great play of the supposed dubiety of his paternity"
Origin:
late Middle English: from Old French paternité, from late Latin paternitas, from paternus ‘relating to a father’.
