From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpaternitypa‧ter‧ni‧ty /pəˈtɜːnəti $ -ɜːr-/ noun [uncountable] law SCLSSFthe fact of being the father of a particular child, or the question of who the child’s father is The paternity of the child is in dispute.
Examples from the Corpus
paternity• Modigliani adamantly refused to admit paternity of the child.• Jackson never has filed suit seeking to establish paternity, Brokaw said.• Neither father had taken or requested an extended paternity leave that would interrupt his career.• Indeed, she may give to a litter of mixed paternity.• Why should the discovery of paternity automatically lead to a male seizure of power?• Fathers are allowed two days off as paid paternity leave.• A DNA test should establish Wright's paternity of the child.• Would Bill Gates take paternity leave?• Receiving maintenance payments would perpetuate this link and also gives him unwelcome paternity rights.From Longman Business Dictionarypaternitypa‧ter‧ni‧ty /pəˈtɜːnəti-ɜːr-/ noun [uncountable] LAW the fact of being the father of a particular child, or the question of who the child’s father isThe court was unable to act in instances where paternity couldn’t be established.