maternal Hear it!

maternal Definition

ma·ter·nal (mə tʉrnəl)

adjective

  1. of, like, or characteristic of a mother or motherhood; motherly
  2. derived, received, or inherited from a mother
  3. related through the mother's side of the family maternal grandparents

Etymology: ME < MFr maternel < L maternus < mater, mother

maternal Related Forms

ma·ter·nally adverb

maternal Synonyms

maternal

modif.

maternal Law Definition

adj

Pertaining to one’s mother.

maternal Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • grandmother: My maternal grandmother was Jessie Shelley of Southend on Sea in the UK.
  • grandfather: My maternal grandfather was an attorney in good practice.
  • mortality: TB causes more deaths among women world wide than all causes of maternal mortality combined.
  • uncle: A young maternal uncle, who had grown a beard at an early age, volunteered to take on the task.
  • grandparent: The maternal grandparents have obtained parental responsibility under a court order in the United Kingdom.
  • instinct: However, the maternal instinct clearly shone through with women proving more generous with their prize money.

Modifying Another Word

  • very: It was a very maternal remark, the kind made when an obstreperous boy had repeated a question for the hundredth time.
  • particularly: Affected girls are often particularly maternal by nature and if reproduction is impossible many take great joy in adopting and mothering children.
  • naturally: It's the same with motherhood, so stop beating yourself up for not being naturally maternal.
  • exclusively: In normal reproduction, mtDNA inheritance is exclusively maternal.