difference between paternal and maternal
Difference Between Maternal and Paternal. Paternal is a word that has many meanings, but there is a common thread of relating to the father that is running through all these meanings. The word is to father what maternal is to mother and pertains to all things or traits that are considered fatherly. We have paternal relatives and maternal relatives that are easy to comprehend once we know that our fatherâs father is our paternal grandfather and the mother of our mother is our maternal grandmother.