Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Relating to or characteristic of a mother or motherhood; motherly: maternal instinct.
- adj. Inherited from one's mother: a maternal trait.
- adj. Related through one's mother: my maternal uncle.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Pertaining to a mother or to motherhood; proper to a mother; motherly: as, maternal love or authority; maternal pains or cares.
- Relating to or consisting of mothers; concerning the state of motherhood: as, a maternal association; a maternal hospital.
- Coming from or through a mother; imparted by or connected with one's mother: as, a maternal inheritance; a maternal uncle or cousin; maternal ancestry or lineage.
- Of or pertaining to the country of one's birth; native; vernacular.
- Synonyms Parental, etc. See motherly.
Wiktionary
- adj. Of or pertaining to a mother; having the characteristics of a mother, motherly.
- adj. Related through the mother, or her side of the family.
- adj. anatomy, medicine Derived from the mother as opposed to the foetus during pregnancy.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Of or pertaining to a mother; becoming to a mother; motherly.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. relating to or characteristic of or befitting a parent
- adj. characteristic of a mother
- adj. relating to or derived from one's mother
- adj. related on the mother's side
Etymologies
- From Middle French maternel or post-Classical Latin māternālis ("maternal"), from māternus ("maternal"), from māter ("mother"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old French maternel, from Medieval Latin māternālis, from Latin māternus, from māter, mother. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“IV. ii.35 (435,9) From her maternal sap] [W: material] I suppose no reader doubts but the word should be _maternal_.”
“This, my friends, is what they call maternal instinct.”
“If the grizzlies are united by an anti-establishment fury rooted in maternal concern, then it's fair to ask what their records show they've done for kids.”
“Violence against women and girls, inadequate or more expensive healthcare, forced marriage, declines in maternal health, sex trafficking, and the inability to access funding for economic opportunities and education are just a few.”
The Huffington Post: Cheryl Saban: Putting Empowerment of Women and Girls on the Human Agenda
“The report is pessimistic about reduction in maternal mortality saying that although coverage of skilled-delivery care increased in 12 countries, others had little or no improvement.”
Infant and Maternal Mortality Rates Increase in India | Impact Lab
“Since then, new data have emerged suggesting not only an increase in maternal fecundity but also larger paternal family sizes for homosexuals.”
“Progress on MDG-5, for example, focused on improving maternal health, has been strong,, yet achievement of the goal, a two-thirds reduction in maternal mortality by 2015, is unlikely at this point.”
The Huffington Post: Aron Cramer: Streamlining the Millennium Development Goals for More Impact
“To put it plainly, less than half of a tenth of a percent of unsafe abortions result in maternal death.”
“Members of the G8 can make a tangible difference in maternal and child health and Canada will be making this the top priority in June.”
“But should abortion be included in maternal health in the developing world?”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘maternal’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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AGRI - horse breeding
place bet, Przewalski's horse, piaffe, genus Claviceps, stadium jumping, draft animal, snaffle bit, noseband, equestrian sport, endurance riding, curb bit, dressage and 678 more...
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RBC: Adjectives for Henry's Ma
Our class list of adjectives for Henry's Ma.
determined, cautious, disappointed, uncertain, wise, stubborn, passionate, unsupportive, forgiving, firm, honest, dishonest and 36 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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mater-, matri-
mother
maternity, matriarch, matriarchy, matriarchal, maternal, matricide
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OED word of the Day
Just like it says
majority, plasm, apal, statin, legerdemain, leap year, daffodil, maternal, key worker, jojoba, skelf, pose and 101 more...
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my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
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Learned words
Words which are highly likely to be found in the work of learned writers.
ailurophile, labyrinthine, lagniappe, colleague, anechoic, reglets, fluctuations, scalar, implicit, constitute, mortification, ambassadors and 629 more...
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One more switchback
Tip of the hat to Stephen, who always tells me "only one more switchback" as we go up the trail. Usually it is a lie, but it still works!
switchback, heavens to murgat..., prosody, catarrh, ice storm, existential, predicament, intermingle, comingle, stolid, zeitgeist, bibliophage and 146 more...
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ash
ash
abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abide, abject, abjure and 4874 more...
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Ladies' Night
girl, lady, madame, miss, missy, woman, dame, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, grandmother and 50 more...
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The Wasteland
Words found in Eliot's 'The Wasteland.'
Shantih, Damyata, Dayadhvam, Datta, againe, Ile, Le Prince d'Aquit..., Quando fiam ceu c..., Poi s'ascose nel ..., Coriolanus, aetherial, solicitor and 70 more...
Tweets
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