mother

A1 Topic:Family & Relationships

US /ˈmʌðɚ/ UK /ˈmʌð.ə/ See IPA manual

Freq #218

Meanings

1

noun
A female parent; a woman who has or raises a child.

I am visiting my mother today.
2

noun
The source or origin of something.

Necessity is the mother of invention.
3

noun
The biggest or most extreme example of something.

They got caught in the mother of all traffic jams.

Word forms

The same word in different grammatical forms.

Noun

Singular: mother
Her mother works nearby.
Plural: mothers
Their mothers work nearby.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a female parent; a woman... female parent

More dam ma mam mamamamawmammamammawmammymamsiemamsymatermatriarch

Opposites

child daughter father offspring son

Word family

Derived forms allomotherantimotherbabymotherbeemotherbiomotherbirthmotherco-motherco-mother-in-lawcow-mothereldermothereldmotherforemother

Related forms materfamiliasmaterial maternal maternitymatriculatematrimony matrix matter

Appears in

Phrases (6)

See all

new mother
a woman who has recently given birth for the first time

Adjective + noun
single mother
a mother who raises children alone without a partner

Adjective + noun
become a mother
have a child for the first time; take on the role of a mother

Verb + noun
miss one's mother
feel the absence of one's mother

Verb + noun
working mother
a mother who holds paid employment outside the home

Adjective + noun
expectant mother
a woman who is pregnant

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (7)

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Simplified etymology

Mother is an Old English word descended from the same ancient root as Dutch moeder, German Mutter, and Latin mater. The root probably arose from the sound ma made by babies and interpreted as referring to their mothers.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr Proto-Germanic *mōdēr Proto-West Germanic *mōder Old English mōdor Middle English moder English mother From Middle English moder, from Old English mōdor, from Proto-West Germanic *mōder, from Proto-Germanic *mōdēr, from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr. Doublet of Madeira, mata, mater, matrix, and matter. Some have proposed that the "dregs" sense is from Middle Dutch modder (“filth”), from Proto-Germanic *muþraz (“sediment”), but modder is not known in this meaning. On the other hand, words for "mother" have developed the secondary sense of "dregs" in se…

moder Middle English mōdor Old English *mōder Proto-West Germanic *mōdēr Proto-Germanic *méh₂tēr Proto-Indo-European *muþraz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Family & Relationships

External links

# mother

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈmʌðɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmʌð.ə/
**Frequency rank:** 218

## Meanings
1. A female parent; a woman who has or raises a child.
2. The source or origin of something.
3. The biggest or most extreme example of something.

## Examples
- I am visiting my mother today.
- Necessity is the mother of invention.
- They got caught in the mother of all traffic jams.

## Synonyms
- dam
- ma
- mam
- mama
- mamaw
- mamma
- mammaw
- mammy
- mamsie
- mamsy
- mater
- matriarch

## Antonyms
- child
- daughter
- father
- offspring
- son

## Derived Forms
- allomother
- antimother
- babymother
- beemother
- biomother
- birthmother
- co-mother
- co-mother-in-law
- cow-mother
- eldermother
- eldmother
- foremother

## Related Forms
- materfamilias
- material
- maternal
- maternity
- matriculate
- matrimony
- matrix
- matter

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: moder
- Root: mōdor
- Root: *mōder
- Root: *mōdēr
- Root: *méh₂tēr
- Root: *muþraz

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr Proto-Germanic *mōdēr Proto-West Germanic *mōder Old English mōdor Middle English moder English mother From Middle English moder, from Old English mōdor, from Proto-West Germanic *mōder, from Proto-Germanic *mōdēr, from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr. Doublet of Madeira, mata, mater, matrix, and matter. Some have proposed that the "dregs" sense is from Middle Dutch modder (“filth”), from Proto-Germanic *muþraz (“sediment”), but modder is not known in this meaning. On the other hand, words for "mother" have developed the secondary sense of "dregs" in se…

## AI Etymology
Mother comes from Middle English moder, from Old English mōdor, from Proto-West Germanic *mōder, from Proto-Germanic *mōdēr, from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr. Doublet of Madeira, mata, mater, matrix, and matter. Some have proposed that the "dregs" sense is from Middle Dutch modder (“filth”), from Proto-Germanic *muþraz (“sediment”), but modder is not known in this meaning. In present-day English its meanings include a female parent; a woman who has or raises a child, the source or origin of something, and the biggest or most extreme example of something. The historical chain runs through moder (Middle English), mōdor (Old English), *mōder (Proto-West Germanic), *mōdēr (Proto-Germanic), and *méh₂tēr (Proto-Indo-European).

## Topics
- Family & Relationships

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