maternalism

ma·ter·nal

M m

Definitions of maternalism word

adjective maternalism of, pertaining to, having the qualities of, or befitting a mother: maternal instincts. 1
adjective maternalism related through a mother: his maternal aunt. 1
adjective maternalism derived from a mother: maternal genes. 1
noun maternalism The treatment of people in a motherly manner, especially by caring for them as a mother would care for her children. 1

before 1475

One of the 25% oldest English words

1475-85; < Medieval Latin māternālis, equivalent to Latin mātern(us) (māter mother1 + -nus adj. suffix) + -ālis -al1

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 88% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer