Adjacent Words

Mother definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MOTHER, n. [L. mater, mother; matrix, the womb; materia, matter, stuff, materials of which any thing is made. We observe that in some other languages, as well as in English, the same word signifies a female parent, and the thick slime formed in vinegar; and in all the languages of Europe here cited, the orthography is nearly the same as that of mud and matter. The question then occurs whether the name of a female parent originated in a word expressing matter, mold; either the soil of the earth, as the producer, or the like substance, when shaped and fitted as a mold for castings; or whether the name is connected with the opinion that the earth is the mother of all productions; whence the word mother-earth. We are informed by a fragment of Sanchoniathon, that the ancient Phenicians considered mud to be the substance from which all things were formed. See Mud. The word matter is evidently from the Ar. madda, to secrete, eject or discharge a purulent substance; and I think cannot have any direct connection with mud. But in the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, the same word madre signified mother, and a mold for castings; and the northern languages, particularly the German and Danish, seem to establish the fact that the proper sense of mother is matrix. Hence mother of pearl, the matrix of pearl. If this word had its origin in the name of the earth used for the forms of castings, it would not be a singular fact; for our word mold, in this sense, I suppose to be so named from mold, fine earth. The question remains sub judice.]
1. A female parent; especially, one of the human race; a woman who has borne a child; correlative to son or daughter.
2. That which has produced any thing.
Alas, poor country! it cannot
Be called our mother, but our grave.
So our native land is called mother country, and a plant from which a slip or cion is taken, is called the mother plant. In this use, mother may be considered as an adjective.
3. That which has preceded in time; the oldest or chief of any thing; as a mother-church.
4. Hysterical passion. [Not used.]
5. A familiar term of address or appellation of an old woman or matron.
6. An appellation given to a woman who exercises care and tenderness towards another, or gives parental advice; as when one says," a woman has been a mother to me."
7. A thick slimy substance concreted in liquors, particularly in vinegar, very different from scum or common lees.
MOTHER of pearl, n. The matrix of pearl; the shell in which pearls are generated; a species of Mytilus or Mussel.
MOTHER of thyme, n. A plant of the genus Thymus.
MOTHER, a. Native; natural; received by birth; as mother-wit.
1. Native; vernacular; received from parents or ancestors; as mother-tongue.
MOTHER, v.i. To concrete, as the thick matter of liquors.
MOTHER, v.t. To adopt as a son or daughter.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother); "the mother of three children" [syn: mother, female parent] [ant: begetter, father, male parent]
2: a stringy slimy substance consisting of yeast cells and bacteria; forms during fermentation and is added to cider or wine to produce vinegar
3: a term of address for an elderly woman
4: a term of address for a mother superior
5: a condition that is the inspiration for an activity or situation; "necessity is the mother of invention" v
1: care for like a mother; "She fusses over her husband" [syn: mother, fuss, overprotect]
2: make children; "Abraham begot Isaac"; "Men often father children but don't recognize them" [syn: beget, get, engender, father, mother, sire, generate, bring forth]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English moder, from Old English m?dor; akin to Old High German muoter mother, Latin mater, Greek m?t?r, Sanskrit m?t? Date: before 12th century 1. a. a female parent b. (1) a woman in authority; specifically the superior of a religious community of women (2) an old or elderly woman 2. source, origin <necessity is the mother of invention> 3. maternal tenderness or affection 4. [short for motherfucker] sometimes vulgar motherfucker 5. something that is an extreme or ultimate example of its kind especially in terms of scale <the mother of all construction projects> • motherhood noun • motherless adjective • motherlessness noun II. adjective Date: 13th century 1. a. of, relating to, or being a mother b. bearing the relation of a mother 2. derived from or as if from one's mother 3. acting as or providing parental stock — used without reference to sex III. transitive verb (mothered; mothering) Date: 1548 1. a. to give birth to b. to give rise to ; produce 2. to care for or protect like a mother IV. noun Etymology: archaic mother dregs, lees; akin to Middle Dutch moeder dregs Date: circa 1828 mother of vinegar

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a a woman in relation to a child or children to whom she has given birth. b (in full adoptive mother) a woman who has continuous care of a child, esp. by adoption. 2 any female animal in relation to its offspring. 3 a quality or condition etc. that gives rise to another (necessity is the mother of invention). 4 (in full Mother Superior) the head of a female religious community. 5 archaic (esp. as a form of address) an elderly woman. 6 (attrib.) a designating an institution etc. regarded as having maternal authority (Mother Church; mother earth). b designating the main ship, spacecraft, etc., in a convoy or mission (the mother craft). --v.tr. 1 give birth to; be the mother of. 2 protect as a mother. 3 give rise to; be the source of. 4 acknowledge or profess oneself the mother of. Phrases and idioms: Mother Carey's chicken = storm petrel 1. mother country a country in relation to its colonies. mother-figure an older woman who is regarded as a source of nurture, support, etc. Mother Goose rhyme US a nursery rhyme. mother-in-law (pl. mothers-in-law) the mother of one's husband or wife. mother-in-law's tongue a plant, Sansevieria trifasciata, with long erect pointed leaves. mother-lode Mining the main vein of a system. mother naked stark naked. mother-of-pearl a smooth iridescent substance forming the inner layer of the shell of some molluscs. Mother's Day 1 Brit. = MOTHERING SUNDAY. 2 US an equivalent day on the second Sunday in May. mother's ruin colloq. gin. mother's son colloq. a man (every mother's son of you). mother tongue 1 one's native language. 2 a language from which others have evolved. mother wit native wit; common sense. Derivatives: motherhood n. motherless adj. motherlessness n. motherlike adj. & adv. Etymology: OE modor f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mother Moth"er, a. Received by birth or from ancestors; native, natural; as, mother language; also acting the part, or having the place of a mother; producing others; originating. It is the mother falsehood from which all idolatry is derived. --T. Arnold. Mother cell (Biol.), a cell which, by endogenous divisions, gives rise to other cells (daughter cells); a parent cell. Mother church, the original church; a church from which other churches have sprung; as, the mother church of a diocese. Mother country, the country of one's parents or ancestors; the country from which the people of a colony derive their origin. Mother liquor (Chem.), the impure or complex residual solution which remains after the salts readily or regularly crystallizing have been removed. Mother queen, the mother of a reigning sovereign; a queen mother. Mother tongue. (a) A language from which another language has had its origin. (b) The language of one's native land; native tongue. Mother water. See Mother liquor (above). Mother wit, natural or native wit or intelligence.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mother Moth"er, n. [OE. moder, AS. m[=o]dor; akin to D. moeder, OS. m[=o]dar, G. mutter, OHG. muotar, Icel. m[=o][eth]ir, Dan. & Sw. moder, OSlav. mati, Russ. mate, Ir. & Gael. mathair, L. mater, Gr. mh`thr, Skr. m[=a]t[.r]; cf. Skr. m[=a] to measure. [root]268. Cf. Material, Matrix, Metropolis, Father.] 1. A female parent; especially, one of the human race; a woman who has borne a child. 2. That which has produced or nurtured anything; source of birth or origin; generatrix. Alas! poor country! . . . it can not Be called our mother, but our grave. --Shak. I behold . . . the solitary majesty of Crete, mother of a religion, it is said, that lived two thousand years. --Landor. 3. An old woman or matron. [Familiar] 4. The female superior or head of a religious house, as an abbess, etc. 5. Hysterical passion; hysteria. [Obs.] --Shak. Mother Carey's chicken (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of small petrels, as the stormy petrel (Procellaria pelagica), and Leach's petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa), both of the Atlantic, and O. furcata of the North Pacific. Mother Carey's goose (Zo["o]l.), the giant fulmar of the Pacific. See Fulmar. Mother's mark (Med.), a congenital mark upon the body; a n[ae]vus.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mother Moth"er, v. i. To become like, or full of, mother, or thick matter, as vinegar.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mother Moth"er, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mothered; p. pr. & vb. n. Mothering.] To adopt as a son or daughter; to perform the duties of a mother to. The queen, to have put lady Elizabeth besides the crown, would have mothered another body's child. --Howell.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mother Moth"er, n. [Akin to D. modder mud, G. moder mold, mud, Dan. mudder mud, and to E. mud. See Mud.] 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. Note: The film is composed of a mass of rapidly developing micro["o]rganisms of the genus Mycoderma, and in the mother of vinegar the micro["o]rganisms (Mycoderma aceti) composing the film are the active agents in the Conversion of the alcohol into vinegar. When thickened by growth, the film may settle to the bottom of the fluid. See Acetous fermentation, under Fermentation.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mauther Mau"ther, n. [Cf. AS. m[ae]g? a maid.] [Also spelled mawther, mother.] A girl; esp., a great, awkward girl; a wench. [Prov. Eng.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(mothers, mothering, mothered) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. Your mother is the woman who gave birth to you. You can also call someone your mother if she brings you up as if she was this woman. She sat on the edge of her mother's bed... She's an English teacher and a mother of two children... I'm here, Mother. N-FAMILY 2. If a woman mothers a child, she looks after it and brings it up, usually because she is its mother. Colleen had dreamed of mothering a large family. VERB: V n • mothering The reality of mothering is frequently very different from the romantic ideal. 3. If you mother someone, you treat them with great care and affection, as if they were a small child. Stop mothering me. VERB: V n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

muth'-er ('em, "mother," "dam," "ancestress"; meter):

1. Her Position in the Old Testament:

In vain do we look in the Scriptures for traces of the low position which woman occupies in many eastern lands. A false impression has been created by her present position in the East, especially under Mohammedan rule. Her place as depicted in the Scriptures is a totally different one. Women there move on the same social plane with men. They often occupy leading public positions (Ex 15:20; Jud 4:4; 2Ki 22:14). The love of offspring was deeply imbedded in the heart of Hebrew women, and thus motherhood was highly respected. Among the patriarchs women, and especially mothers, occupy a prominent place. In Rebekah's marriage, her mother seems to have had equal voice with her father and Laban, her brother (Ge 24:28,50,53,55). Jacob "obeyed his father and his mother" (Ge 28:7), and his mother evidently was his chief counselor. The Law places the child under obligation of honoring father and mother alike (Ex 20:12). The child that strikes father or mother or curses either of them is punished by death (Ex 21:15,17). The same fate overtakes the habitually disobedient (De 21:18-21).

In one place in the Law, the mother is even placed before the father as the object of filial reverence (Le 19:3). The Psalmist depicts deepest grief as that of one who mourneth for his mother (Ps 35:14). In the entire Book of Proverbs the duty of reverence, love and obedience of sons to their mothers is unceasingly inculcated. The greatest comfort imaginable is that wherewith a mother comforts her son (Isa 66:13).

2. Position in the New Testament:

And what is true of the Old Testament is equally true of the New Testament. The same high type of womanhood, the same reverence for one's mother is in evidence in both books. The birth of Christ lifted motherhood to the highest possible plane and idealized it for all time. The last thing Jesus did on the Cross was to bestow His mother on John "the beloved" as his special inheritance. What woman is today, what she is in particular in her motherhood, she owes wholly to the position in which the Scriptures have placed her. Sometimes the stepmother is spoken of as the real mother (Ge 37:10). Sometimes the grandmother or other female relative is thus spoken of (Ge 3:20; 1Ki 15:10).

Tropically the nation is spoken of as a mother and the people are her children (Isa 50:1; Jer 50:12; Ho 2:4; 4:5). Large cities also are "mothers" (2Sa 20:19; compare Ga 4:26; 2 Esdras 10:7), and Job even depicts the earth as such (Job 1:21).

Henry E. Dosker

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Female parent. 2. Dam (applied to a beast). 3. Generatrix, origin, spring, source. 4. Chief, head. II. a. 1. Native, natural. 2. Originating.

Moby Thesaurus

SOB, agent, ancestorial, ancestors, ancestral, apprentice, architect, artificer, artist, attend to, aunt, auntie, author, baby, baby-sit, bastard, bear, beget, begetter, beginner, birth, blood brother, breed, breed true, brethren, bring to birth, brother, bub, bubba, bud, buddy, bugger, builder, care for, catalyst, causer, chaperon, cherish, coddle, conceiver, conserve, constructor, copulate, cosset, country cousin, cousin, cousin once removed, cousin twice removed, cradle, craftsman, creator, creep, crossbreed, cultivate, dam, daughter, designer, deviser, discoverer, dry-nurse, effector, engender, engenderer, engineer, executor, executrix, fart, father, fatherlike, fatherly, feed, first cousin, fondle, foster, foster brother, foster mother, founder, frater, generate, generator, genesis, genetrix, get, give birth to, grandfatherly, grandmotherly, grandnephew, grandniece, grandparental, granduncle, great-aunt, great-uncle, grower, half brother, heel, hood, hooligan, inaugurator, inbreed, indulge, industrialist, initiator, innate, inspirer, instigator, institutor, introducer, inventor, jerk, journeyman, keep watch over, kid brother, lavish care on, look after, look out for, look to, louse, ma, make love, maker, mam, mama, mamma, mammy, manufacturer, master, master craftsman, mater, materfamilias, maternal, maternal ancestor, matriarch, matronize, maw, meanie, mind, minister to, mom, mommy, motherlike, motherly, mover, multiply, mum, mummy, native, natural, nephew, niece, nourish, nuncle, nunks, nunky, nurse, nurture, nurturer, old, old lady, old woman, organizer, origin, originator, outbreed, pamper, parent, parental, past master, paternal, patriarchal, pill, planner, precursor, preserve, prime mover, primum mobile, procreate, producer, progenitrix, proliferate, propagate, protect, protege, provide for, raiser, rat, realizer, reproduce in kind, ride herd on, second cousin, see after, see to, serve, shaper, shelter, shepherd, shit, shithead, shitheel, sire, sis, sissy, sister, sister-german, sistern, smith, son, source, spoil, spoon-feed, stepbrother, stepmother, stepsister, stinkard, stinker, suckle, support, sustain, take care of, take charge of, tend, the old woman, turd, unc, uncle, uncs, uterine brother, wait on, watch, watch out for, watch over, wellspring, wet-nurse, wright