From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishfatherlyfa‧ther‧ly /ˈfɑːðəli $ -ðər-/ adjective [only before noun] FATHERkind and gentle in a way that is considered typical of a good father → motherly He took my arm in a fatherly way. fatherly advice
Examples from the Corpus
fatherly• Do you mind if I give you some fatherly advice?• His fatherly affection was not strong, as events proved, but his fear of the gods was.• The suggestion of fatherly closeness was essential, even if it seemed awkward and difficult to illustrate.• He did all the fatherly duties, he changed diapers.• One day, feeling very fatherly, I decided to make him some soup.• And the city manager smiled his fatherly, kindly smile.• He spoke in a warm, fatherly tone.• From the plane window he could still see the two young women, and gave them a fatherly wave.• He was always sort of brotherly and fatherly with him. 