maternal
Syllables: ma·tern·al/məˈtɜːnəl/US/məˈtɝnəl/
maternal adjective: of or pertaining to a mother; having the characteristics of a mother; motherly.
Adjective
maternal (comparative more maternal, superlative most maternal)
- Of or pertaining to a mother; having the characteristics of a mother; motherly.
- His weakness seemed to bring out her maternal instincts.
- However, the Hebrew (I ſay) is the moſt antient and maternall Language; for Adam uſed it, and all men before the Flood, as is manifeſt from the Scripture, and Fathers.1650, Edward Leigh, “To the Reverend, Pious, and Learned Assembly of Divines, Convened at Westminster: And to All Such as are Studious of Knowledge in the Originall Text of the New Testament. [The...
- Related through the mother, or her side of the family.
- Toby is my maternal uncle.
- Doctor [Alexander] MacWhorter was of Scotch extraction. His maternal ancestors were among the first emigrants from Scotland to the North of Ireland; and the family of his father removed to the same country about the time of his father's birth.1808 April, “Biography. Sketch of Rev. Dr. MacWhorter.”, in The Panoplist; or, The Christian’s Armory, volume III, number 11 (number 35 overall), Boston, Mass.: Printed by Lincoln & Edmands, […]...
- Antonyms:
- paternal
- Derived from the mother as opposed to the foetus during pregnancy.
- The facts which have now been stated warrant, I think, the conclusion, that the human placenta does not consist of two parts, maternal and fœtal, that no cells exist in its substance, and that there is no communication between the uterus and the placenta by large arteries and veins.1831 November 17, Robert Lee, “III. On the Structure of the Human Placenta, and Its Connexion with the Uterus.”, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, part I, London: Printed...
- Undernutrition occurs when dietary intake cannot meet nutritional requirements. The synthesis of maternal and fetal tissue or breast milk, and the associated costs of maternal maintenance increase nutrient requirements during pregnancy and lactation.1991, Barbara Abrams, “Maternal Undernutrition and Reproductive Performance”, in Frank Falkner, editor, Infant and Child Nutrition Worldwide: Issues and Perspectives, Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press...
Noun
maternal (plural maternals)
- A mother.
- In the necessarily brief space allotted to a review in these pages it would be impossible to sketch out the story at any length. Suffice it that there are two fathers, two sons and two daughters; the maternals, for once, go for little, but there is an Aunt Philly—a conception, that starts out in...1865 January, “‘Which is the Winner?’ By Charles Clarke, Author of ‘Charlie Thornhill’ [book review]”, in Baily’s Monthly Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, volume IX, number 59, London: A. H. Baily &...
- [...] I would especially bring to your attention the manifest propriety of discountenancing any familiarity from your mothers when in society. If obliged to go with your tiresome maternals to any social gathering, you may reclaim your freedom immediately upon entering the room by slipping...1868, Orpheus C. Kerr [pseudonym; Robert Henry Newell], “Letter III”, in Smoked Glass, New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] W. Carleton, publisher; London: S[ampson] Low, Son, & Co., →OCLC, page 53
- A person related through the mother, or her side of the family; a maternal relative.
- Divide what? The estate that came from the father to the son. Amongst whom? The paternal brothers. If it means, that paternals and maternals shall now divide, as paternals formerly did, the whole sentence operates nothing; for without, the half blood on both sides, would have taken. But say it...1826 January, John Haywood, Judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court, “Jane C. Butler v. James M. King”, in George S. Yerger, William Frierson Cooper, editors, Tennessee Reports. Reports of Cases Argued...
- If there are both paternal and maternal uncles and aunts, the maternals take a third, even if there is only one of them, and whether male or female, and the paternals two-thirds, even though there is only one of them, and whether male or female. If the maternals are of one kind, a male has the...1869, Neil B[enjamin] E[dmonstone] Baillie, “Of Inheritance by ‘Nusub’ or Consanguinity”, in A Digest of Moohummudan Law on the Subjects to which It is Usually Applied by British Courts of Justice in...
maternal meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
maternal in Hindi
- maternal
- मादरी mādrī, मातृक mātŕk
maternal in Tamil
- தாய்வழி
maternal in Urdu
- مادری, مادرانہ, ماں کا
maternal in Bengali
- মাতৃসুলভ, মায়ের দিককার, মাতামহীয়
More languagesFewer languages
- maternal in Telugu
- తల్లి talli
- maternal in Malayalam
- മാതാവിനെ സംബന്ധിച്ച, മാതൃതുല്യമായ, ബന്ധത്തിൽ അമ്മ വഴിയുളള
- maternal in Kannada
- ತಾಯ್ತನದ, ತಾಯಿಯ, ತಾಯಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ, ತಾಯಿಯಂತಹ
- maternal in Sanskrit
- मातृक mātṛka
- maternal in Arabic
- أُمِّيّ ʔummiyy, أُمُومِيّ ʔumūmiyy
- maternal in Persian
- مادرانه mâdarâne, مادری mâdari
Examples of maternal in a sentence
- The infant had once, at leaſt, a maternal embrace; [...].1799 April 15, “P. M.”, “[Untitled letter to the editor]”, in Sylvanus Urban [pseudonym; Edward Cave], editor, The Gentleman’s Magazine...
- Thus lonely left, no soft maternal breast / His murmurs soothed, or cradled him to rest; / Moist with delight, no maternal eye / Watched his weak limbs their early efforts try, [...]1816 July, Hamilton Sydney Beresford, “Mahomet”, in Cambridge Prize Poems: Being a Complete Collection of the English Poems which have...
- In potato, crosses between the tetraploid cultivated species Solanum tuberosum, and some clones of the diploid wild-type species S. phureja, constitute a method of producing maternal dihaploids.1998, C. Horlow, C. Raquin, “A Critical Analysis of Existing Haploidization Techniques”, in Y[ves] Chupeau, M[ichel] Caboche, Y[ves] Henry...
- Maternal desire is at once obvious and invisible partly because it is so easily confused with other things.2004, Daphne de Marneffe, “The ‘Problem’ of Maternal Desire”, in Maternal Desire: On Children, Love, and the Inner Life, New York, N.Y....
Antonyms of maternal
Forms of maternal
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more maternal |
| superlative | most maternal |
| alternative form | maternall |
| Noun | |
| plural | maternals |
Origin of maternal
PIE word *méh₂tēr The adjective is derived from Late Middle English maternal, maternall, from Middle French maternel (“maternal”) (modern French maternel (“maternal; native”)), or from its etymon Late Latin māternālis (“maternal”), from Latin māternus (“maternal; related to the mother or her side of the family”) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship from nouns). Māternus is derived from māter (“mother”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr (“mother”)) + -rnus (suffix forming adjectives). The English word is cognate with Italian maternale, materno, Portuguese maternal, materno, Spanish maternal, materno. The noun is derived from the adjective.
Words formed from maternal
- allomaternal
- antimaternal
- bimaternal
- direct maternal death
- feto-maternal
- fetomaternal
- foetomaternal
- grandmaternal
- indirect maternal death
- maternal aunt
- maternal cousin
- maternal custody
- maternal death
- maternal effect
- maternal grandchild
- maternal grandfather
- maternal grandmother
- maternal half aunt
- maternal half-uncle
- maternal impression
- maternalisation
- maternalism
- maternalist
- maternalistic
- maternalization
- maternalize
- maternally
- maternalness
- maternal orphan
- maternal uncle
- maternal wall
- nonmaternal
- prematernal
- transmaternal
- ultramaternal
- unmaternal
Phrases with maternal
- maternal aunts
- maternal deaths
- maternal uncles
- maternal cousins
- maternal effects
- maternal orphans
- maternal half aunts
- maternal half-uncles
- maternal impressions
- maternal grandfathers
- maternal grandmothers
- direct maternal deaths
2 more phrasesFewer phrases
Words that rhyme with maternal
- kernel
- external
- internal
- colonel
- diurnal
- infernal
- journal
- eternal
- fraternal
- paternal
- hyosternal
- nocturnal
40 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- sempiternal
- supernal
- vernal
- anteroexternal
- anterointernal
- antesternal
- asternal
- chondrosternal
- coeternal
- coracosternal
- costosternal
- coxosternal
- dorsoexternal
- dorsointernal
- episternal
- hesternal
- hodiernal
- infrasternal
- intersternal
- latisternal
- mesosternal
- metasternal
- midsternal
- nonexternal
- noninternal
- parasternal
- peristernal
- posteroexternal
- posterointernal
- poststernal
- presternal
- retrosternal
- sternal
- substernal
- supersternal
- suprasternal
- ternal
- tracheosternal
- transsternal
- vertebrosternal
Questions about maternal
- What does maternal mean?
- Maternal means of or pertaining to a mother; having the characteristics of a mother; motherly.
- What is maternal in Hindi?
- Maternal in Hindi is मादरी (mādrī), मातृक (mātŕk). See Maternal meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use maternal in a sentence?
- The infant had once, at leaſt, a maternal embrace; [...].
- What part of speech is maternal?
- Maternal can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce maternal?
- Maternal is pronounced /məˈtɜːnəl/ (UK).
Words near maternal in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: maternal (page history and authors); मातृक (Hindi) (page history and authors); maternal (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); maternal (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Maternal (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); తల్లి (Telugu) (page history and authors); maternal (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); maternal (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); मातृक (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-maternal.wav.
Cite this entry: “maternal.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/maternal. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.