˜yÐÄvlog

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mother

1

[ muhth-er ]

noun

  1. a woman who has borne offspring; a female parent.
  2. Often Mother. one’s own female parent:

    I should give Mother a call today.

    Our mother did not approve of many of the shenanigans we got up to.

  3. a mother-in-law, stepmother, foster mother, female adoptive parent, or female guardian.
  4. Usually Mother. a term of address for a female parent or a woman having or regarded as having the status, function, or authority of a female parent:

    Thank you for coming, Mother.

  5. a woman providing care or exercising influence or authority like that of a female parent:

    The elderly widow next door was a mother to him.

  6. the qualities characteristic of a mother, such as maternal affection, protectiveness, responsibility, etc.:

    Sometimes the mother in her comes out and she'll remind her students to drive safely.

  7. something that gives rise to something else; origin or source:

    Imagination is the mother of possibility.

  8. a woman who originates or creates something:

    Marie Curie was the mother of radiography.

  9. Usually Mother. Ecclesiastical. a title of respect for certain female church leaders, such as heads of convents, bishops, or priests. mother superior ( def ).
  10. Mother, (in Neopaganism) the second form of the Goddess, represented as a mother or middle-aged woman and said to symbolize fertility and the flourishing stages of life and growth. Compare crone ( def 3 ), maiden ( def 3 ).
  11. Mother, a title for something personified as an older woman:

    Mother Earth.

  12. a term of familiar address for an old or elderly woman.
  13. Slang. a euphemism for motherfucker.
  14. Audio. (in disk recording) a mold from which stampers are made.


adjective

  1. being a female parent:

    I watched as the mother bird fed her baby.

  2. of, relating to, or characteristic of a mother:

    mother love.

  3. learned or acquired from or as if from one's mother; native:

    After emigrating, he never really abandoned his mother culture.

  4. bearing a relation like that of a mother, as in being the origin, source, leader, protector, etc.:

    The mother company issues directives to all its affiliates.

    The server is the mother computer for the whole network.

verb (used with object)

  1. to be the mother, origin, or source of:

    She mothered two children.

  2. to care for or protect like a mother; act maternally toward, sometimes in an excessive way: Stop mothering me!

    It’s in her nature to love and mother those around her.

    Stop mothering me!

    Synonyms: , , ,

  3. to acknowledge oneself the author of; assume as one's own.

verb (used without object)

  1. to perform the tasks or duties of a female parent, sometimes in an excessive way; act maternally:

    She’s always wanted to mother.

mother

2

[ muhth-er ]

noun

  1. a stringy, mucilaginous substance consisting of various bacteria, especially Acetobacter aceti, that forms on the surface of a fermenting liquid and converts ethanol to acetic acid, as in changing wine or cider to vinegar.

mother

1

/ ˈ³¾ÊŒÃ°É™ /

noun

    1. a female who has given birth to offspring
    2. ( as modifier )

      a mother bird

  1. often capital, esp as a term of address a person's own mother
  2. a female substituting in the function of a mother
  3. archaic.
    often capital a term of address for an old woman
    1. motherly qualities, such as maternal affection

      it appealed to the mother in her

    2. ( as modifier )

      mother love

    3. ( in combination )

      mothercraft

    1. a female or thing that creates, nurtures, protects, etc, something
    2. ( as modifier )

      mother earth

      mother church

  4. a title given to certain members of female religious orders

    mother superior

  5. Christian Science God as the eternal Principle
  6. modifier native or innate

    mother wit

  7. offensive.
    short for motherfucker
  8. be mother
    to pour the tea

    I'll be mother

  9. the mother of all … informal.
    the greatest example of its kind

    the mother of all parties

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to give birth to or produce
  2. to nurture, protect, etc as a mother
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

mother

2

/ ˈ³¾ÊŒÃ°É™ /

noun

  1. a stringy slime containing various bacteria that forms on the surface of liquids undergoing acetous fermentation. It can be added to wine, cider, etc to promote vinegar formation Also calledmother of vinegar
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈ³¾´Ç³Ù³ó±ð°ù¾±²Ô²µ, noun
  • ˈ³¾´Ç³Ù³ó±ð°ù²â, adjective
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Other ˜yÐÄvlog Forms

  • ³¾´Ç³Ù³ó·±ð°ù·±ô±ð²õ²õ adjective
  • ³¾´Ç³Ù³ó·±ð°ù·±ô±ð²õ²õ·ness noun
  • ³¾´Ç³Ù³ó·±ð°ù·±ô¾±°ì±ð adjective
  • ³Ü²Ô·³¾´Ç³Ù³ó·±ð°ù±ð»å adjective
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˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of mother1

First recorded before 900; Middle English mother, moder, Old English ³¾Å»å´Ç°ù; cognate with Dutch moeder, German Mutter, Old Norse ³¾Å³Ù³ó¾±°ù; akin to Armenian mayr, Greek mḗtÄ“r, mÄÌtÄ“r, Irish ³¾Ã¡³Ù³ó²¹¾±°ù, Latin ³¾Äå³Ù±ð°ù, Latvian ³¾Äå³Ù±ð, Persian ³¾Ã¢»å²¹°ù, Russian mat', Sanskrit ³¾Äå³Ù²¹°ù-

Origin of mother2

First recorded in 1450–1500; probably special use of mother 1, but perhaps another word, akin to Dutch modder “d°ù±ð²µ²õ,†Middle Low German moder “swampy landâ€; mud
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˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of mother1

Old English ³¾Å»å´Ç°ù; compare Old Saxon ³¾Å»å²¹°ù, Old High German muotar, Latin ³¾Äå³Ù±ð°ù, Greek ³¾Å§³Ùŧ°ù

Origin of mother2

C16: perhaps from mother 1, but compare Spanish madre scum, Dutch modder dregs, Middle Low German modder decaying object, mudde sludge
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Idioms and Phrases

  1. mother of all, the greatest or most notable example of:

    Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap has been called the mother of all mystery novels.

More idioms and phrases containing mother

In addition to the idiom beginning with mother , also see necessity is the mother of invention .
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Forensic investigators found blood from the baby's mother on the binbags and were able to extract a full DNA profile.

From

The narrator’s history is slowly revealed over the course of the drive to Arkansas and what follows their arrival at their mother’s home.

From

Justin and his two older siblings lived in a different home with a foster mother.

From

A mother who killed her newborn baby boy in 1998 while in the grip of severe post-natal depression has been given a two-year suspended prison sentence after a judge decided the case "called for compassion".

From

A family affair as 20-year-old jockey rides horse owned by his mother Georgia.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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