Link Centre Dictionary

motherly

mot·herly

UK/ˈmʌðəli/ US/ˈmʌðɚli/ uncommon
adverb (1) adjective (1)

adverb

1.

in a maternal manner; as a mother

  • “she loved her students almost maternally”
Synonyms

adjective

1.

befitting a mother; warm and nurturing

Similar

Origin

From Middle English moderly, from Old English mōdorlīċ (“motherly, maternal”), from Proto-Germanic *mōdērlīkaz (“motherly, maternal”), equivalent to mother + -ly.

Related words

Pertaining to

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.