Wordwyrt

maternal

/məˈtɜːnəl/muh-TUR-nuhl
/məˈtɝnəl/muh-TUR-nuhl

Meaningof a mother

Common meaning: of a mother

Journey through time

  1. Latinmāter, mātris‘mother’
  2. Frenchmaternel
  3. Englishmaternal‘of a mother’ · today

mater also in: matrixmatronmatrimony

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin māter ‘mother’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry māter, p. 1118 · dictionary scan

Roots

Related words

matrimonymatrixmatron

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