mother - What does it mean?
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Definition of 'mother'English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) ).
Noun
( en-noun)
A (human) female who (a) s a child (b) gives birth to a baby (c) donates a fertilized egg or (d) donates a body cell which has resulted in a clone. Sometimes used in reference to a pregnant female, possibly as a shortened form of mother-to-be.
- I am visiting my mother'''(a) today.'' — ''My sister-in-law has just become a '''mother'''.(b)'' — ''Nutrients and oxygen obtained by the '''mother (c) are conveyed to the fetus.
* 1988 , Robert Ferro, Second Son ,
- He had something of his mother in him, but this was because he realized that in the end only her love was unconditional, and in gratitude he had emulated her.
* 1991 , (Susan Faludi), The Undeclared War Against American Women ,
- The antiabortion iconography in the last decade featured the fetus but never the mother .
A female parent of an animal.
- The lioness was a mother of four cubs.
(figuratively) A female ancestor.
* 1525 , ,
- And Ada[Adam] called his wyfe Heua[Eve] because she was the mother of all that lyveth
* 1844 , , Fragment on the Church , Volume 1, page 17 ,
- But one in the place of God and not God, is as it were a falsehood; it is the mother falsehood from which all idolatry is derived.
(figuratively) A source or origin.
- The Mediterranean was mother to many cultures and languages.
* 1606', '', Act 4, Scene 3, '''1866 , George Steevens (editor), ''The Complete Works of William Shakespeare , page 278 ,
- Alas, poor country: / Almost afraid to know itself! It cannot / Be call'd our mother , but our grave:
* 1844 , , Fragment on the Church , Volume 1, page 17 ,
- But one in the place of God and not God, is as it were a falsehood; it is the mother falsehood from which all idolatry is derived.
(when followed by a surname) A title of respect for one's mother-in-law.
- Mother Smith, meet my cousin, Doug Jones.
(figuratively) Any elderly woman, especially within a particular community.
(figuratively) Any person or entity which performs mothering.
* The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel. –Judges 5:7 , KJV.
* Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. –Galatians 4:26 , KJV.
A film or membrane which is developed on the surface of fermented alcoholic liquids, such as vinegar, wine, etc., and acts as a means of conveying the oxygen of the air to the alcohol and other combustible principles of the liquid, thus leading to their oxidation.
The principal piece of an astrolabe, into which the others are fixed.
The female superior or head of a religious house; an abbess, etc.
(obsolete) Hysterical passion; hysteria.
- (Shakespeare)
Synonyms
* See also
* metro-
Antonyms
* (with regards to gender) father
* (with regards to ancestry) daughter, son, child
Hypernyms
* (a female parent) parent
Coordinate terms
* (a female parent) father
Derived terms
* antimother
* be mother
* biological mother
* birth mother
* foster mother
* grandmother, great-grandmother
* Mother City
( rel-mid3)
* Mother Earth
* motherfucker
* Mothering Sunday
* mother-in-law
* motherland
* motherload
* mother lode
( rel-mid3)
* Mother's Day
* mother-to-be
* mother wit
* motherwort
* refrigerator mother
* stepmother
* surrogate mother
( rel-bottom)
Verb
( en-verb)
To treat as a mother would be expected to treat her child; to nurture.
*
- She had seen fewer years than any of us, but she was of such superb Evehood and simplicity that she mothered us from the beginning.
References
* American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company 2003.
Etymology 2
Calque of Arabic .
Noun
( en-noun)
Something that is the greatest or most significant of its kind.
- "The great duel, the mother of all battles has begun." — (Saddam Hussein)
Related terms
* mother of all
Etymology 3
Shortened from (motherfucker)
Alternative forms
* mutha
Noun
( en-noun)
(euphemistic|coarse|slang) Motherfucker.
(euphemistic|colloquial) A striking example.
*
*
*
*
Synonyms
* MF, mofo, motherfucker, mutha
Statistics
*
Etymology 4
Coined from .
Alternative forms
* moth-er
Noun
( en-noun)
(nonstandard) A cat that catches moths.
Similar to 'mother'mither, matter, meter, mater, madder, meteor, mooter, moider, mutter, motor, moder, midair, mudar, miter, muter, myther, modder, metier, midyear, meatier, meeter, mether, moither, muddier, moodier, midtier, midtour, mawther, meader, mouther, mudder, muther, medar, mothier, mauther, moodir, mooder, motour, mudir, mather, metayer, meather
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