paternal : Idioms & Phrases
Paternal government
(Polit. Science) , the assumption by the governing power of a quasi-fatherly relation to the people, involving strict and intimate supervision of their business and social concerns, upon the theory that they are incapable of managing their own afffairs.
Webster 1913
paternal quality
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noun the benignity and protectiveness of or befitting a father
fatherliness.
- the gentleness and fatherliness of the strange old man eased her fears