n. & v.
n. 1 a a woman in relation to a child or children to whom she has given birth. b (in full adoptive mother) a woman who has continuous care of a child, esp. by adoption. 2 any female animal in relation to its offspring. 3 a quality or condition etc. that gives rise to another (necessity is the mother of invention). 4 (in full Mother Superior) the head of a female religious community. 5 archaic (esp. as a form of address) an elderly woman. 6 (attrib.) a designating an institution etc. regarded as having maternal authority (Mother Church; mother earth). b designating the main ship, spacecraft, etc., in a convoy or mission (the mother craft).
v.tr. 1 give birth to; be the mother of. 2 protect as a mother. 3 give rise to; be the source of. 4 acknowledge or profess oneself the mother of. Mother Carey's chicken = storm petrel 1. mother country a country in relation to its colonies. mother-figure an older woman who is regarded as a source of nurture, support, etc. Mother Goose rhyme US a nursery rhyme. mother-in-law (pl. mothers-in-law) the mother of one's husband or wife. mother-in-law's tongue a plant, Sansevieria trifasciata, with long erect pointed leaves. mother-lode Mining the main vein of a system. mother naked stark naked. mother-of-pearl a smooth iridescent substance forming the inner layer of the shell of some molluscs. Mother's Day 1 Brit. = MOTHERING SUNDAY. 2 US an equivalent day on the second Sunday in May. mother's ruin colloq. gin. mother's son colloq. a man (every mother's son of you). mother tongue 1 one's native language. 2 a language from which others have evolved. mother wit native wit; common sense. motherhood n. motherless adj. motherlessness n. motherlike adj. & adv.
[ OE modor f. Gmc ]