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/mətˈərnəl/ Listen

Maternal

adjective

Characteristic of a mother. Antonym: paternal.

Relating to or derived from one's mother.

Relating to or characteristic of or befitting a parent. Synonyms: parental, paternal. Antonym: filial.

Related on the mother's side. Synonyms: enate, enatic.

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"Maternal" Quotes from Famous Books

... determination to live in Duxbury—which he named for Duxborough Hall, his ancestral home in Lancashire—went far in obtaining for it a separate incorporation and a separate church. This was the first definite offshoot from the Plymouth Colony, and was accompanied by the usual maternal fears. While he could not forbid them going to Duxbury to settle, yet, when they asked for a separate incorporation and church, Bradford granted it most unwillingly. He voiced the general sentiment when he wrote that such ...

— The Old Coast Road - From Boston to Plymouth • Agnes Rothery

... giving him a gentle push. She was shyly aware of a lapse into unhabitual emotion and of some closer approach to the maternal relation fostered by his growing resemblance ...

— Westways • S. Weir Mitchell

... were accordingly removed to the Yellow Springs, a healthy and pleasant bathing-place at three hours' distance from the city. On Saturday morning their nurse, the only servant we have, thought proper to disapprove of my deportment towards her, and left me to the maternal delights of dressing, washing, and looking after my children during that insufferable heat. Miss H—— was entirely incapacitated, and I feared was going to be ill, and I have reason to thank Heaven that I am provided with the ...

— Records of Later Life • Frances Anne Kemble

... say, nothing, not even enough to hire a coupe by the month. Hence, in this respect, the young girl has never been dependent upon the man, and as she has but one weapon with which to conquer him—love—the mothers allow them to learn love as soon as possible, through maternal devotion.... Yes, through maternal devotion. In my opinion, the universal alteration in the type of the young girl of former times may be imputed, first of all, to the mothers of the present generation." ...

— Paris from the Earliest Period to the Present Day; Volume 1 • William Walton

... thoughts will remain in the mind long after the book has been set aside.... Before I had covered ten pages I realized that I had something worth its weight in gold. What theme could be more interesting to the ordinary reader than 'Mother,' especially when it is a panegyric on maternal devotion? The author was fortunate in her selection and still happier in her treatment of it, for if there is anything that appeals, it is a true loyal discussion of mother and mother-love. In modern fiction we have too little of the chastening and ...

— Christmas - A Story • Zona Gale

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