maternal
pronunciation
How to pronounce maternal in British English:
UK [məˈtɜːnl]
How to pronounce maternal in American English:
US [məˈtɜːrnl]
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- Adjective:
- characteristic of a mother
- relating to or derived from one's mother
- relating to or characteristic of or befitting a parent
- related on the mother's side
Word Origin
- maternal
- maternal: [15] Maternal and maternity [17] are the central English representatives of the Romance-language branch of the great Indo- European ‘mother’ word-family. Both go back to Latin māter ‘mother’ (source of French mère and Italian and Spanish madre), whose derived adjective māternus reached English via Old French maternel. Other English words that come ultimately from māter include material and matter, matrix [16] (from which also come madrigal and matriculate [16], etymologically ‘enter on a matrix or list’), and matrimony [14].=> mother
- maternal (adj.)
- late 15c., from Old French maternel (14c.), from Vulgar Latin *maternalis, from Latin maternus "maternal, of a mother," from mater "mother" (see mother (n.1)).
Synonym
Antonym
Example
- 1. They believe the seal triggered a maternal defence mechanism in the humpbacks .
- 2. But having an unsupportive partner was the most strongly associated with maternal depression .
- 3. In short , maternal instinct is wonderful , but it has its limits .
- 4. But dr szyf still wanted to know what triggers epigenetic tagging in response to maternal care .
- 5. Driven partly by maternal desperation , I have spent the last several years investigating french parenting .