/ ˌpætrɪˈlɪniəl; NAmE / adjective
( formal ) used to describe the relationship between father and child that continues in a family with each generation, or sth that is based on this relationship :
In that society, inheritance of land is patrilineal (= the children get the land that their father owned) .
—compare matrilineal
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WORD ORIGIN
early 20th cent.: from Latin pater , patr- father + lineal .