'Motherly' definitions:
Definition of 'motherly'
(from WordNet)
adverb
In a maternal manner; as a mother; "she loved her students almost maternally" [syn: maternally, motherly]
adjective
Befitting a mother; warm and nurturing
Definition of 'Motherly'
From: GCIDE
- Motherly \Moth"er*ly\, adv. In a manner of a mother. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Motherly'
From: GCIDE
- Motherly \Moth"er*ly\, a. [AS. m[=o]dorlic.] Of or pertaining to a mother; like, or suitable for, a mother; tender; maternal; as, motherly authority, love, or care. --Hooker. [1913 Webster]
- Syn: Maternal; paternal.
- Usage: Motherly, Maternal. Motherly, being Anglo-Saxon, is the most familiar word of the two when both have the same meaning. Besides this, maternal is confined to the feelings of a mother toward her own children, whereas motherly has a secondary sense, denoting a care like that of a mother for her offspring. There is, perhaps, a growing tendency thus to separate the two, confining motherly to the latter signification. "They termed her the great mother, for her motherly care in cherishing her brethren whilst young." --Sir W. Raleigh. [1913 Webster]
Words containing 'Motherly'
- Mother,
- Mothered,
- Mothering,
- Foster mother,
- Great Mother,
- Mother Goose,
- Mother cell,
- Mother church,
- Mother country,
- Mother liquor,
- Mother of God,
- Mother of vinegar,
- Mother queen,
- Mother tongue,
- Mother water,
- Mother wit,
- Mother's Day,
- Mother's mark,
- Queen mother,
- Surrogate mother,
- den mother,
- earth mother,
- mother board,
- mother figure,
- mother hen,
- mother hubbard,
- mother jones,
- mother lode,
- mother of thyme,
- mother seton,
- mother superior,
- mother teresa,
- mother theresa,
- mother's boy,
- mother's daughter,
- mother's milk,
- mother's son,
- Eel-mother,
- Mother Carey's chicken,
- Mother Carey's goose,
- Mother-in-law,
- Mother-naked,
- Mother-of-pearl,
- Mother-of-thyme,
- foster-mother,
- mother carey's hen,
- mother-of-thousands,
- spore mother cell,
- mother-in-law plant,
- mother-in-law's tongue,
- mother-of-pearl cloud