 |
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Maternal \Ma*ter"nal\, adjective [F. maternel, L. maternus, fr. mater mother. See {Mother}.] Of or pertaining to a mother; becoming to a mother; motherly; as, maternal love; maternal tenderness.
Syn: See {Motherly}.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
maternal
adjective
1: characteristic of a mother; "warm maternal affection for her guest"- Dorothy Sayers [ant: {paternal}]
2: relating to or derived from one's mother; "maternal genes"
3: relating to or characteristic of or befitting a parent; "parental guidance" [syn: {parental}, {paternal}] [ant: {filial}]
4: related on the mother's side; "my maternal grandmother" [syn: {enate}, {enatic}, {maternal(p)}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
43 Moby Thesaurus words for "maternal": adoring, affectionate, ancestorial, ancestral, caring, conjugal, demonstrative, devoted, doting, faithful, fatherlike, fatherly, filial, fond, grandfatherly, grandmotherly, grandparental, husbandly, kind, kindly, languishing, lovelorn, lovesick, lovesome, loving, maternalistic, melting, mother, motherlike, motherly, nurturing, parent, parental, paternal, patriarchal, romantic, sentimental, soft, tender, understanding, uxorious, warm, wifely
 |
Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |