| 释义 |
moth·er
I. \ˈməthə(r)\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English moder, from Old English mōdor; akin to Old High German muoter mother, Old Norse mōthir, Latin mater, Greek mētēr, Sanskrit mātṛ
1.
a. : a woman who has given birth to a child : a female parent
< a mother of five >
< food for the nursing mother >
< in the union of the sexual cells the chromosomes coming from the mother — S.F.Mason >
< in chimpanzees the female's functions as mother and mate alternate in stretches of time — Weston La Barre >
b. : one related to another in a way paralleling or suggesting the relation of mother to child: as
(1) : one to whom a filial affection and respect are usually due : adoptive mother : stepmother, mother-in-law
(2) : a woman having authority or dignity like that of a mother
< because these class mothers proved so helpful — Gertrude H. Hildreth >
c. : an elderly woman — often used preceding the surname
< Mother Hubbard >
2.
a. : one that has produced or nurtured something : parent stock : source
< although nature is our mother, she is not a complete guide to human conduct — Brooks Atkinson >
< the fertile mother of … civilizations — Edward Clodd >
< Hebrew was considered the mother of European languages — R.W.Weiman >
< the free press is the mother of all our liberties — A.E.Stevenson †1965 >
b. : prototype
< huge mother of ocean liners, she was five times the size of the largest vessel then afloat — C.V.Woodward >
3.
a. obsolete : womb
< diseases of the mother — William Coles >
b. archaic : hysteria
< the particular diseases of this sign are … hardness of the spleen, mother, hypochondriac melancholy — Ebenezer Sibly >
4. : feeling (as tenderness or affection) inherited from or characteristic of a mother
< all my mother came into mine eyes and gave me up to tears — Shakespeare >
< all the mother in her soul awakes — Alexander Pope >
5. : mother liquor — usually used in plural with the
6. : a device for sheltering chickens after incubation — called also artificial mother
7. : matrix 4f
II. transitive verb
(mothered ; mothered ; mothering \-th(ə)riŋ\ ; mothers)
1.
a. : to give birth to
< she mothered five sons but no daughters >
b. : to give rise to as if by birth : produce
< this … unexplored country has mothered many legends — V.W.Von Hagen >
2. : to care for, cherish, or protect in the manner of a mother
< all his life … he had to be mothered by somebody — Van Wyck Brooks >
3.
a. : to acknowledge that one is the mother or author of
b. : to attribute the maternity or origin of to a particular person
4. : to act as a protective-fire cover or escort for in a military or naval operation
< the low-flying contact machines … mothering the infantry — Airman's Outings >
< mothering subs off the Grand Banks — Atlantic >
III. adjective
1.
a. : of, relating to, or being a mother
< mother love >
< mother pains >
b. : bearing a relationship to others that is parallel to or suggestive of that of a mother
< mother lodge >
< mother stream >
2. : derived from or as if from one's mother
< mother dialect >
3. : acting as or providing parental stock — used without reference to sex
< mother plant >
< mother tubercle >
< pollen mother cells — Americana Annual >
IV. noun
(-s)
Etymology: akin to Middle Dutch modder, moeder mud, swamp, dregs, lees, Middle Low German moder, modder putrid body, swampland, mudde thick mud — more at mud
1. archaic : lees, dregs
2. or mother of vinegar : a slimy membrane that develops on the surface of alcoholic liquids undergoing acetous fermentation, that is composed of yeast cells and bacteria of the genus Acetobacter (especially A. acetus syn. Mycoderma aceti) which produce the fermentation, and that is added to wine or cider as a starter to produce vinegar
V. intransitive verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
: to become mothery
< her wines sour and pickles mother — Samuel Johnson >
VI. noun
Etymology: by shortening
1. : motherfucker herein — usually used as a generalized term of abuse
2. [translation of Arabic umm followed by a genitive noun] : a particularly large, formidable, or extreme example
< not just a summer rally, but the mother of all summer rallies — Alan Abelson > |