The relationship between a parent and child, or the act of determining who someone's father or mother is.
From Latin 'filiatio', derived from 'filius' (son) and 'filia' (daughter). The term evolved in legal contexts to describe the legal establishment of parent-child relationships, particularly paternity.
Before DNA tests, establishing filiation was incredibly difficult—entire legal systems developed complex rules about legitimacy and inheritance based on birth order and marriage timing. The word reveals how much of history was really about proving whose child you were.
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