mother
mother Lexical Profile
mother Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A woman in relation to her child or children; a female parent.
"She called her mother every Sunday evening to catch up on family news."
A female animal in relation to its offspring.
"The mother bear fiercely protected her cubs from approaching predators."
Something that is the origin, source, or main progenitor of something else, or an extreme example of its kind.
"Necessity is often described as the mother of invention."
A gelatinous substance consisting of yeast and bacteria that forms in fermenting alcoholic liquids and turns them into vinegar.
"She added a small piece of vinegar mother to the jar of hard cider to start the fermentation process."
• adjective
Denoting an institution, organization, or entity from which others of a similar type have derived or on which they depend, or relating to one's native origin.
"The subsidiary regularly sends financial reports back to the mother company in London."
• verb
To look after or care for someone kindly and protectively, sometimes excessively so.
"He appreciated her concern, though he wished she would stop trying to mother him at work."
To give birth to or bring up a child as a female parent.
"She mothered three children while pursuing her career in medicine."
• Rhymes for mother
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from Old English 'modor', of Proto-Germanic origin (*moder), which comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *mater- (also the source of Latin 'mater' and Greek 'meter'), ultimately originating from nursery baby-talk sounds.