Library / English Dictionary

MOTHER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A condition that is the inspiration for an activity or situation

Example:

necessity is the mother of invention

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("mother" is a kind of...):

inspiration (arousal of the mind to special unusual activity or creativity)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)

Example:

the mother of three children

Synonyms:

female parent; mother

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("mother" is a kind of...):

parent (a father or mother; one who begets or one who gives birth to or nurtures and raises a child; a relative who plays the role of guardian)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mother"):

ma; mama; mamma; mammy; mom; momma; mommy; mum; mummy (informal terms for a mother)

mater (an informal use of the Latin word for mother; sometimes used by British schoolboys or used facetiously)

mother-in-law (the mother of your spouse)

para I; primipara ((obstetrics) woman who has been delivered of a child for the first time)

puerpera (a woman in childbirth or shortly thereafter)

quadripara ((obstetrics) woman who has given birth to a viable infant in each of four pregnancies)

quintipara ((obstetrics) woman who has given birth to a viable infant in each of five pregnancies)

supermom (an informal term for a mother who can combine childcare and full-time employment)

surrogate mother (a woman who bears a child for a couple where the wife is unable to do so)

Instance hyponyms:

Blessed Virgin; Madonna; Mary; The Virgin; Virgin Mary (the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics)

Antonym:

father (a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father))

Derivation:

mother (make (offspring) by reproduction)

mother (care for like a mother)

motherhood (the kinship relation between an offspring and the mother)

motherly (befitting a mother; warm and nurturing)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A term of address for a mother superior

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("mother" is a kind of...):

abbess; mother superior; prioress (the superior of a group of nuns)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A term of address for an elderly woman

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("mother" is a kind of...):

old woman (a woman who is old)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A stringy slimy substance consisting of yeast cells and bacteria; forms during fermentation and is added to cider or wine to produce vinegar

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("mother" is a kind of...):

barm; yeast (a commercial leavening agent containing yeast cells; used to raise the dough in making bread and for fermenting beer or whiskey)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make (offspring) by reproduction

Example:

John fathered four daughters

Synonyms:

beget; bring forth; engender; father; generate; get; mother; sire

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "mother" is one way to...):

create; make (make or cause to be or to become)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

mother (a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Care for like a mother

Example:

She fusses over her husband

Synonyms:

fuss; mother; overprotect

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "mother" is one way to...):

care; give care (provide care for)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

mother (a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother))

Credits

 Context examples: 

A fetal position during delivery in which the head of the fetus faces the mother's back.

(Anterior Occiput Presentation, NCI Thesaurus)

One afternoon he saw her mother coming out of a bank, and received another proof of the enormous distance that separated Ruth from him.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The father and mother were in the old English style, and the young people in the new.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

They had never been worn, my mother said.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

She saw, I suppose, the doubt in my face, for she put the rosary round my neck, and said, "For your mother's sake," and went out of the room.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

“I have been,” said Catherine, looking down, “to see your mother's room.”

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

They include health problems in the mother, genetic factors, problems with the placenta and substance abuse by the mother.

(Birth Weight, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

But she shook her head, as one might shake off sleep or a dream, saying: I have known it all my life. It was my father’s name for my mother.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

That’s why, overall, fetuses do not grow sufficiently during pregnancy when the mother is older compared to when she is young, said Dr Napso.

(Placenta changes could mean male offspring of older mums more likely to develop heart problems in later life, University of Cambridge)

He had recollected that there was such a thing in the world as his mother.

(White Fang, by Jack London)