mammothreptn.

Etymology: < post-classical Latin mammothreptus kept at the breast too long (only recorded in St Augustine and certain 15th cent. sources) < Hellenistic Greek or Byzantine Greek μαμμόθρεπτος brought up by one's grandmother (only in Scholia and glossaries) < Hellenistic Greek μάμμη grandmother (compare mama n.¹) + θρεπτός , adjective < the base of τρέϕειν to bring up (compare trophic adj.). St Augustine's use of this rare Greek word is surprising, since he did not know Greek; an earlier post-classical Latin source may have been lost. The Latin sense is probably influenced by classical Latin mamma mamma n.Sense 2 arises from a misunderstanding of quot. 1601 at sense 1.