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materfamilias

[ mey-ter-fuh-mil-ee-uh s ]

/ ˌmeɪ tər fəˈmɪl i əs /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR materfamilias ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the mother of a family.

Origin of materfamilias

1750–60; < Latin; cf. paterfamilias

Words nearby materfamilias

matelot, matelote, mater, mater dolorosa, mater turrita, materfamilias, materia alba, materia medica, material, material cause, material culture

Example sentences from the Web for materfamilias

In the first case, the wife became a materfamilias while in the second she was simply an uxor.

The Historical Child |Oscar Chrisman
The door opened at last, and Paterfamilias entered with Materfamilias (whose headache was better), and followed by the candles.

In the Yule-Log Glow, Book II |Various
"The first time we ever travelled second-class in our lives," murmured Materfamilias.

Lippincott's Magazine, December, 1885 |Various
There is nothing to tell the materfamilias; and yet, at her first attempt, she fills the honey-pot to the requisite depth.

The Mason-bees |J. Henri Fabre

And I, being vain (turn some people out of a room and you don't humble them properly), retort with—'materfamilias!'

The Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Volume II |Elizabeth Barrett Browning

British Dictionary definitions for materfamilias

materfamilias

/ (ˌmeɪtəfəˈmɪlɪˌæs) /

noun plural matresfamilias (ˌmeɪtreɪzfəˈmɪlɪˌæs)

the mother of a family or the female head of a family

Word Origin for materfamilias

C18: from Latin