patria potestas
Roman paternal authority
Patria potestas is the legal power a Roman father held over his household—wife, children, slaves, and property.
This authority was absolute in early Roman law, including rights of life and death over family members.
The term appears in legal and historical discussions of patriarchal authority: Under patria potestas, adult sons remained legally subordinate to their fathers.
- manusForelimb extremity, anatomically
- fatherMale parent
- emancipationRelease from legal bondage
- familiaHousehold, in Spanish
- family lawJurisprudence of households
custody · paterfamilias · tutelage · curatorship · parental authority · inheritance rights · adoption · parental · lineage · dominion · discipline · property · toga · household · obedience · citizen · lex · filial
- legal statuslegal status, legal capacity, civil status, personhood, legal entity
- Roman LawRoman law, Corpus Juris Civilis, Justinian Code, Twelve Tables, Digest
- patriarchymale dominance, male supremacy, pater familias, male privilege, patriarchate
- Latin Legal Termsbona fide, caveat emptor, de facto, de jure, in absentia
- marriage lawmarriage contract, divorce decree, marriage certificate, matrimony, divorce petition
- Roman householdfamilia, domus, paterfamilias, materfamilias, pater
patron, patriot, patriotism, patriotic, potency, patronize, patronage, patria, potestas