Etymology

fatherly

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Today it means: Characteristic of what is considered the ideal behaviour pertaining to fatherhood. Full definition →

Middle English faderly ← Old English fæderlīċ ← Proto-West Germanic *faderlīk
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fatherly · adjective1

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*fadurlīkaz“fatherly, paternal”
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*faderlīk
  3. Old English · inherited fromfæderlīċ“fatherly, paternal”
  4. Middle English · inherited fromfaderly
  5. English todayfatherly

From Middle English faderly, from Old English fæderlīċ (“fatherly, paternal”), from Proto-West Germanic *faderlīk, from Proto-Germanic *fadurlīkaz (“fatherly, paternal”), equivalent to father + -ly. Cognate with West Frisian faderlik (“fatherly”), Dutch vaderlijk (“fatherly”), German väterlich (“fatherly”), Danish faderlig (“fatherly”), Swedish faderlig (“fatherly”), Icelandic föðurlegur (“fatherly”) . Doublet of fatherlike.

fatherly · adverb2

  1. Old English · inherited fromfæderlīċe“in a fatherly way, as a father”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromfaderly
  3. English todayfatherly

From Middle English faderly, fadirly, from Old English fæderlīċe (“in a fatherly way, as a father”), equivalent to father + -ly.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.