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Motherless

adj, adv, slang

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Without a (living) mother. not-comparable

    "Of 110 boys, all very far below the average in physique, forty-four had a mother at home, but sixty-six were all practically motherless. In some cases the mother was dead, but in the rest the mother was absent all day at work."

  2. 2
    Without mother (mucilaginous substance in fermenting liquid). not-comparable

    "Your onely way to make a good pomander, is this. Take an ownce of the pureſt garden mould, clenſed and ſteeped ſeauen daies in change of motherleſſe roſe water, then take the beſt Labdanum, Benioine, both Storaxes, amber greece, and Ciuet, and muſke, incorporate them together, and work them into what form you pleaſe; this, if your breath bee not to valiant, will make you ſmell as ſweete as my Ladies dogge."

  3. 3
    Without a history or predecessor. figuratively, not-comparable

    "Although there had been some previous attempts in the same direction, Boole's idea by no means grew from what other men had conceived, but, as truly as any mental product may, sprang from the brain of genius, motherless."

Adjective
  1. 1
    having no living or known mother wordnet
Adverb
  1. 1
    very, completely (especially in reference to drunkenness) Australia, South-Africa, slang

    "At the wake, held at her old pub, Brenda watched as her sisters, brothers-in-law and several nieces and nephews got motherless drunk, then summoned a taxi to take them all home in two separate trips."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English moderles, from Old English mōdorlēas, from Proto-Germanic *mōdērlausaz, equivalent to mother + -less. Cognate with Saterland Frisian muurloos (“motherless”), Dutch moederloos (“motherless”), German mutterlos (“motherless”), Danish moderløs (“motherless”), Swedish moderlös (“motherless”), Icelandic móðurlaus (“motherless”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English moderles, from Old English mōdorlēas, from Proto-Germanic *mōdērlausaz, equivalent to mother + -less. Cognate with Saterland Frisian muurloos (“motherless”), Dutch moederloos (“motherless”), German mutterlos (“motherless”), Danish moderløs (“motherless”), Swedish moderlös (“motherless”), Icelandic móðurlaus (“motherless”).

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