MOTHERLY

motherly

(adjective) befitting a mother; warm and nurturing

maternally, motherly

(adverb) in a maternal manner; as a mother; “she loved her students almost maternally”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

motherly (comparative more motherly, superlative most motherly)

Befitting a mother; warm, caring, nurturing, protective, loving.

Source: Wiktionary


Moth"er*ly, a. Etym: [AS. modorlic.]

Definition: Of or pertaining to a mother; like, or suitable for, a mother; tender; maternal; as, motherly authority, love, or care. Hooker.

Syn.

– Maternal; paternal.

– Motherly, Maternal. Motherly, being Anglo-Saxon, is the most familiar word of the two when both have the same meaning. Besides this, maternal is confined to the feelings of a mother toward her own children, whereas motherly has a secondary sense, denoting a care like that of a mother for her offspring. There is, perhaps, a growing tendency thus to separate the two, confining motherly to the latter signification. "They termed her the great mother, for her motherly care in cherishing her brethren whilst young." Sir W. Raleigh.

Moth"er*ly, adv.

Definition: In a manner of a mother.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

17 May 2025

ANTHOZOAN

(noun) sessile marine coelenterates including solitary and colonial polyps; the medusoid phase is entirely suppressed


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Coffee Trivia

Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.

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