patrilineal

[ pa-truh-lin-ee-uhl, pey- ]

adjective

1. inheriting or determining descent through the male line.

patrilineal

/ ˌpætrɪˈlɪnɪəl /

adjective

1. tracing descent, kinship, or title through the male line

patrilineal

1. Tracing kinship and descent through the male line. ( Compare matrilineal .)

Derived Forms

• ˌpatriˈlineally, adverb

Other Words From

• patri·line·al·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of patrilineal¹

First recorded in 1900–05; patri- + lineal

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, Justin Locke’s son is 9, so there’s a fifth generation in his patrilineal line who could ascend to the helm.

From ProPublica

It’s true that patrilineal baby-naming dominates in America.

From Time

One easy answer lies in the patrilineal history of LEGO itself.

From The Daily Beast

Back in 1983, Reform Judaism recognized the Jewish identity of children of “patrilineal descent.”

From The Daily Beast

Sadly, his proposal was spurned and the “patrilineal” experiment failed.

From The Daily Beast

With patrilineal descent they tend to occupy the tribal territory in such a way that each phratry becomes a local group.

From Project Gutenberg

At the present day the kinship may be matrilineal or patrilineal without affecting their right.

From Project Gutenberg

Patrilineal descent may have been directly evolved without the intermediate stage of reckoning through females.

From Project Gutenberg

For the eight-class system see Table Ia; in which it is assumed that patrilineal descent prevails in all the tribes.

From Project Gutenberg

The area covered by the dichotomous organisations is divided almost equally between matrilineal and patrilineal tribes.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• benevolent