MATERNITY Definition & Meaning

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maternity

[ muh-tur-ni-tee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

the state of being a mother; motherhood.
motherly quality; motherliness.
a section of a hospital devoted to the care of women at childbirth and of their newborn infants.

adjective

of, relating to, or for the period in which a woman is pregnant or has just given birth to a child.
for mothers during and after childbirth or for the care of their newborn babies:
a maternity hospital.
for wear by pregnant women:
maternity clothes.

maternity

/ ��əˈ��ɜː��ɪ��ɪ /

noun

motherhood
the characteristics associated with motherhood; motherliness
modifier relating to pregnant women or women at the time of childbirth
a maternity ward

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Other �y��vlog Forms

��m��·�ٱ��n��·�ٲ� noun

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of maternity¹

1605–15; < Medieval Latin ��ٱ��Ծ��, equivalent to Latin ��ٱ�� ( us ) ( maternal ) + -�� -ity

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The only possible explanation was a mistake or mix-up in that maternity ward more than seven decades ago.

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And a reunion won’t happen anytime soon since Swanson remains out on a “personal break” and Wilson is on maternity leave.

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Bicycle ambulances improve maternity health care in Malawi.

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At the time, Fox captioned a pair of photos — one, a maternity portrait, and another, a black-and-white shot of a positive pregnancy test — with the sentiment, “Nothing is ever really lost. Welcome back.”

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A review of its maternity care, published in 2022, found more than 200 babies and mothers could have survived with proper care.

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