Motherly
/ˈmʌðəli/ adj, adv
adj, adv ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Befitting a mother; warm, caring, nurturing, protective, loving.
"Clover was a stout motherly mare approaching middle life[…]"
Adjective
- 1 befitting a mother; warm and nurturing wordnet
Adverb
- 1 In a way pertaining to, befitting, or of a mother.
"The mother sometime beateth the child, but yet her hart melteth vpon it euen in the very beating, and therefore she casteth the rodde into the fier, and colleth the childe, geueth it an apple and dandleth it moste motherly."
Adverb
- 1 in a maternal manner; as a mother wordnet
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"His helplessness appeals to her motherly sympathy."
Etymology
From Middle English moderly, from Old English mōdorlīċ (“motherly, maternal”), from Proto-Germanic *mōdērlīkaz (“motherly, maternal”), equivalent to mother + -ly.