Meanings
- not comparableanthropologyPertaining to descent through male lines.
The Xhosa are a proud and patrilineal people with an expressive and euphonious language and an abiding belief in the importance of laws, education and courtesy.
1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 4
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivebased on or tracing descent through the male line
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From patri- + lineal. Coined by British government anthropologist Northcote Whitridge Thomas in 1904 along with matrilineal.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Spanish patrilineal
- patrilinealTranslations
Cite this entry
patrilineal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patrilineal
“patrilineal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patrilineal. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “patrilineal,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patrilineal.
Source: patrilineal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.