maternity

C2+ Topic:Family & Relationships

US /məˈtɜrnɪti/ UK /məˈtɜːnɪti/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the state of being a mother; motherhood

She took several months of maternity leave.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the state of being a... motherhoodmotherlinessparenthood

Opposites

paternity

Word family

Related forms maternal mother matron maternally

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

maternity leave
time off work granted to a mother after the birth of her child

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From French maternité, from Medieval Latin māternitās, from Latin māternus ('motherly'), from māter ('mother'). The state of being a mother.

māternus Latin māter Latin *méh₂tēr Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Family & Relationships Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# maternity

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /məˈtɜrnɪti/
**IPA (UK):** /məˈtɜːnɪti/

## Meanings
1. the state of being a mother; motherhood

## Examples
- She took several months of maternity leave.

## Synonyms
- motherhood
- motherliness
- parenthood

## Antonyms
- paternity

## Related Forms
- maternal
- mother
- matron
- maternally

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: māternus
- Root: māter
- Root: *méh₂tēr

## Etymology
From French maternité, from Medieval Latin māternitās, from Latin māternus ('motherly'), from māter ('mother'). The state of being a mother.

## AI Etymology
Maternity comes from French maternité, from Medieval Latin māternitās, from Latin māternus ('motherly'), from māter ('mother'). The state of being a mother. The etymological trail includes Latin māternus, Latin māter, and Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr. As a noun, maternity means the state of being a mother; motherhood. The same family is visible in related forms such as maternal, mother, matron, and maternally.

## Topics
- Family & Relationships
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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