mama

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   An informal, affectionate word for mother.

   The little girl ran to her mama as soon as she saw her.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Mama, recorded in English from the mid-16th century, ultimately imitates the repeated ma sounds commonly made by very young children. Comparable forms occur in many languages, and ma, mom, mum, and mummy have the same nursery-language basis.

Originally from baby talk. Possibly influenced by Middle English mome (“mother, aunt”), from Old English *mōme, from Proto-West Germanic *mōmā, from Proto-Germanic *mōmǭ (“mother, aunt”), from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂-méh₂, reduplication of *méh₂- (“mother”), related to German Muhme (“aunt”), Latin mamma (“mother, nurse”), Irish mam (“mother”), Lithuanian mama, moma (“mother”).

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary