mama
Synonym of mother as a mother would be expected to treat her childSynonym of mother (“to treat (someone) as a mother would be expected to treat her child; to nurture”).
Meaning
3 senses(informal, transitive, uncommon)Synonym of mother (“to treat (someone) as a mother would be expected to treat her child; to nurture”).
(informal, intransitive, uncommon)To call out "mama".
(informal, obsolete, rare, transitive, uncommon)To call (someone) "mama" (noun sense).
Examples
51 sentencesOrigin
The origin of the noun is uncertain; it is probably a reduplication of ma, thought to be aThe origin of the noun is uncertain; it is probably a reduplication of ma, thought to be a sound made by babies when breastfeeding. The word is possibly influenced by Middle French maman (“mother”) (modern French maman), mamme (both probably from Latin mamma (“breast; nurse; (childish) mother, mama; grandmother”), probably cognate with Ancient Greek μᾰ́μμη (mắmmē, “breast; (childish) mother, mama; (Koine) grandmother”), both possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂- (“to nurse; mama, mother”)), but this is also uncertain as all the words could have developed independently as onomatopoeias.
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Forms
mamas, mamaing, mamaed, mamaedSynonyms
1 synonymsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle