Adjacent Words

Maternal definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MATERN'AL, a. [L. maternus, from mater, mother.] Motherly; pertaining to a mother; becoming a mother; as maternal love; maternal tenderness.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: characteristic of a mother; "warm maternal affection for her guest"- Dorothy Sayers [ant: paternal]
2: relating to or derived from one's mother; "maternal genes"
3: relating to or characteristic of or befitting a parent; "parental guidance" [syn: parental, maternal, paternal] [ant: filial]
4: related on the mother's side; "my maternal grandmother" [syn: enate, enatic, maternal]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French maternel, from Medieval Latin maternalis, from Latin maternus, from mater mother — more at mother Date: 15th century 1. of, relating to, belonging to, or characteristic of a mother ; motherly 2. a. related through a mother <his maternal aunt> b. inherited or derived from the female parent <maternal genes> • maternally adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 of or like a mother. 2 motherly. 3 related through the mother (maternal uncle). 4 of the mother in pregnancy and childbirth. Derivatives: maternalism n. maternalistic adj. maternally adv. Etymology: ME f. OF maternel or L maternus f. mater mother

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Maternal Ma*ter"nal, a. [F. maternel, L. maternus, fr. mater mother. See Mother.] Of or pertaining to a mother; becoming to a mother; motherly; as, maternal love; maternal tenderness. Syn: See Motherly.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. Maternal is used to describe feelings or actions which are typical of those of a kind mother towards her child. She had little maternal instinct... Her feelings towards him were almost maternal. ADJ: usu ADJ n 2. Maternal is used to describe things that relate to the mother of a baby. Maternal smoking can damage the unborn child. ADJ: ADJ n 3. A maternal relative is one who is related through a person's mother rather than their father. Her maternal grandfather was Mayor of Karachi. ADJ: ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Motherly.

Moby Thesaurus

adoring, affectionate, ancestorial, ancestral, caring, conjugal, demonstrative, devoted, doting, faithful, fatherlike, fatherly, filial, fond, grandfatherly, grandmotherly, grandparental, husbandly, kind, kindly, languishing, lovelorn, lovesick, lovesome, loving, maternalistic, melting, mother, motherlike, motherly, nurturing, parent, parental, paternal, patriarchal, romantic, sentimental, soft, tender, understanding, uxorious, warm, wifely