ma ‧ ter ‧ nal /məˈtɜːnl $ -ɜːr-/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: French ; Origin: maternel , from Latin maternus , from mater 'mother' ]
1 . typical of the way a good mother behaves or feels ⇨ paternal :
Annie was wonderfully warm and maternal.
She seems to have a strong maternal instinct (=desire to have babies and take care of them) .
2 . [only before noun] relating to a mother or to being a mother ⇨ paternal :
the relationship between maternal age and infant mortality
3 . maternal grandfather/aunt etc your mother’s father, sister etc
—maternally adverb