MONEO | MOTHER

Babylon English

mother
v. act as mother to, protect, nurture; give life to by birthing

x
n. mom, female parent; woman who has given birth; woman acting as a mother or exercising mother-like authority; small British gun used in WWI (British Slang)

x
adj. of a female parent; pertaining to or resembling the love of a mother

Concise Oxford Thesaurus

mother
▶ noun
I will ask my mother: FEMALE PARENT, materfamilias, matriarch; informal ma, mam, mammy, old lady, old woman; Brit. informal mum, mummy; N. Amer. informal mom, mommy; Brit. informal, dated mater.
the foal's mother: DAM.
the wish was mother of the deed: SOURCE, origin, genesis, fountainhead, inspiration, stimulus; poetic/literary wellspring.

Related Terms
maternal, matri-.

Opposites
child, father.

▶ verb
she mothered her husband: LOOK AFTER, care for, take care of, nurse, protect, tend, raise, rear; pamper, coddle, cosset, fuss over.
she mothered an illegitimate daughter: GIVE BIRTH TO, have, bear, produce; N. Amer. birth; archaic be brought to bed of.

Opposites
neglect.

© Oxford University Press 1995, 2002

Concise Oxford English Dictionary

mother
■ noun
a woman in relation to her child or children. ▶a female animal in relation to its offspring.
(Mother) (especially as a title or form of address) the head of a female religious community.
informal an extreme example or very large specimen: the mother of all traffic jams.
vulgar slang, chiefly N. Amer. short for motherfucker.
■ verb
bring up (a child) with care and affection.
look after kindly and protectively.
dated give birth to.

Derivatives
motherhood noun
mothering noun
motherless adjective
motherlessness noun

Origin
OE mōdor, of Gmc origin.

© Oxford University Press, 2004

mother of vinegar

1601
: a slimy membrane composed of yeast and bacterial cells that develops on the surface of alcoholic liquids undergoing acetous fermentation and is added to wine or cider to produce vinegar ― called also mother

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