Paternity (noun)

1. The state of being a father.
2. The fact of being biologically related to one's child.
3. The legal relationship between a father and his child.

Origin:

From the latin word pater (father) + -ity, meaning the state of being a father.

Examples:

1. Paternity tests are often used to determine the father of a child in cases of disputed parentage.
2. The man who signed the birth certificate is not necessarily the child's legal paternity.
3. He has been paying child support for years but he still contests the paternity of the child.
4. The judge ordered a paternity test to confirm the biological relationship between the man and the child.
5. He felt a sense of paternity towards the young apprentice, as if he were his own son.