materteral

Examples of materteral in a sentence

• If a man foozles at golf, he does not say, 'Oh, my cousin, my brother, or my grandfather!' He says, 'Oh, my aunt!' Possibly, general, the Persian is equally deficient in the materteral instinct.1900 October, Max Pemberton, “Pro Patria. [Chapter] XVI.”, in Munsey’s Magazine, volume XXIV, number 1, New York, N.Y.: Frank A[ndrew]...
• Only some insistent pleading (materteral rather than avuncular) had changed their mind.2004, S[aif] Rahman, “Pilgrim Isles [A Kindness at Random]”, in Archipelago, [United Kingdom]: Twenty First Century Publishers, →ISBN, page...
• A materteral lady told me that people come here from the city in search of peace.2013 October 5, Bee Rowlatt, “Japan’s new luxury sleeper train [print edition: Suite surrender on the rails]”, in The Daily Telegraph...

Synonyms of materteral

• auntish
• auntlike
• auntyish
• materterine

Forms of materteral

Origin of materteral

Learned borrowing from Latin mātertera (“maternal aunt”), + from -al (suffix forming adjectives). Mātertera is derived from māter (“mother”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr (“mother”)) + ‑tera (feminine form of ‑ter (suffix forming nouns)).

Questions about materteral

What does materteral mean?

Materteral means of or relating to, or in the manner of, an aunt.

How do you use materteral in a sentence?

If a man foozles at golf, he does not say, 'Oh, my cousin, my brother, or my grandfather!' He says, 'Oh, my aunt!' Possibly, general, the Persian is equally deficient in the materteral instinct.

What part of speech is materteral?

Materteral is an adjective.

How do you pronounce materteral?

Materteral is pronounced /məˈtɜːtəɹl̩/ (UK).