mama

• mamma, momma

Originally from baby talk. Possibly influenced by Middle English mome (“mother, aunt”), from Old English *mōme, from Proto-West Germanic *mōmā, from Proto-Germanic *mōmǭ (“mother, aunt”), from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂-méh₂, reduplication of *méh₂- (“mother”), related to German Muhme (“aunt”), Latin mamma (“mother, nurse”), Irish mam (“mother”), Lithuanian mama, moma (“mother”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /məˈmɑː/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (General American) enPR: mäʹmə, IPA^(key): /ˈmɑmə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: (General American) -ɑːmə, (UK) -ɑː

mama (plural mamas)

1. (hypocoristic, usually childish, Canada, US) Mother, female parent.
   • 1990, Prince (lyrics and music), “Nothing Compares 2 U”, performed by Sinéad O’Connor:

     All the flowers that you planted, mama, in the backyard / All died when you went away

• amma, ma'am

From the prefix ma- and ama.

mama

1. father

• Kateřina Naitoro, A Sketch Grammar of 'Are'are: The Sound System and Morpho-Syntax (2013)

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *mamaq, compare Malay mamah.

mama

1. to chew (tobacco, betel)

mama

1. father

mama

1. mother
2. woman

   Synonym: uman

• IPA^(key): /ma.ma/

mama

1. mother
2. Mrs., mistress (general respectful address for married women).

   tatanak mamanaka ― ladies and gentlemen

• Audio

  (file)

mama (definite accusative mamanı, plural mamalar)

1. (dialectal) paternal aunt [nt. 1]

   Synonym: bibi

2. mom

   Synonym: ana

3. midwife

   Synonym: mamaça

• “mama” in Obastan.com.

mama

1. (Timau) mother, mom, mama

• Umberto Patuzzi, ed., (2013) Ünsarne Börtar, Luserna: Comitato unitario delle linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien.

• Hyphenation: ma‧ma
• IPA^(key): /ˈmama/

máma (masculine papa)

1. a mother; a (human) female who (a) parents a child (b) gives birth to a baby (c) donates a fertilized egg or (d) donates a body cell which has resulted in a clone. Sometimes used in reference to a pregnant female, possibly as a shortened form of mother-to-be

   Synonyms: ina, nanay

2. a term of address to one's mother, mother-in-law or wife

• Hyphenation: ma‧ma
• IPA^(key): /maˈmaʔ/

mamâ

1. betel nut

mama

1. A mother.

   Synonym: babu

From Latin mamma.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈma.mə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [ˈma.ma]

mama f (plural mames)

1. (informal) mom
2. (anatomy) mamma

• càncer de mama (“breast cancer”)

• “mama” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “mama”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “mama” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “mama” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

mama

1. inflection of mamar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• Hyphenation: ma‧ma

mama

1. a mother; a (human) female who (a) parents a child (b) gives birth to a baby (c) donates a fertilized egg or (d) donates a body cell which has resulted in a clone

   Synonyms: ina, inahan, nanay

2. a term of address to one's mother, mother-in-law or wife

• Sense 1 is sometimes used in reference to a pregnant female, possibly as a shortened form of mother-to-be.

From English mama or French maman.

mama

1. mother

   Synonym: naha

   Coordinate term: papa

Loaned from French maman[1]

• audio

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑmaː/
• (Belgium) IPA^(key): /mɑˈmaː/
• Rhymes: -aː

mama f (plural mama's, diminutive mamaatje n)

1. mama, mother

   Mama, ik heb honger! ― Mommy, I’m hungry!

   Synonyms: ma, mam

   Synonyms: moeder, moe, (Flemish) moeke

• mamma

• mama appelsap

• Berbice Creole Dutch: mama
• Negerhollands: mama, Mama
  • → Virgin Islands Creole: muma

mama

1. grandmother

mama

1. ring (for one's finger)

From Latin mamma.

mama f (plural mamas)

1. (anatomy) mamma, breast

• mamar
• mamífero

mama

1. inflection of mamar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Likely from Bengali মামা (mama)

mama

1. maternal uncle
2. husband of aunt
3. father-in-law
4. brother of father-in-law

• mamagipa (formal)
• mamatang (formal)

From Portuguese mama. Cognate with Kabuverdianu mama.

mama

1. bosom
2. breast of a woman

• IPA^(key): /màː.má/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [màː.mə́]

mā̀ma f (possessed form mā̀mar̃)

1. mother

   Synonym: uwa

mā̀ma m (possessed form mā̀man)

1. breast

   Synonym: nono

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *mamaq.

IPA^(key): /ˈma.ma/, [ˈmɐ.mə]

mama

1. to chew, masticate (but not swallow)

• Pukui, Mary Kawena, Elbert, Samuel H. (1986) “mama”, in Hawaiian Dictionary, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press

• IPA^(key): [ˈmɒmɒ]

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ma‧ma
• Rhymes: -mɒ

mama (plural mamák)

1. mom, mum

   Synonyms: anya, anyu, édesanya, anyuka, anyuci

   Coordinate term: papa

2. (dialectal) grandmom

• mama in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Borrowed from English mama, French maman, German Mama, Italian mamma, Russian ма́ма (máma), Spanish mamá.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmama/

mama (plural mamai)

1. mama, mom, mommy, mum

   Synonym: matro

   Coordinate terms: papa, patro

• IPA^(key): /ˈmama/
• Hyphenation: ma‧ma
• Rhymes: -ma, -a

Originally from baby talk.

mama (plural mama-mama, first-person possessive mamaku, second-person possessive mamamu, third-person possessive mamanya)

1. mother: female parent.

   Synonyms: biyung, bunda, emak, embok, ibu, ibunda, ibung, indung, mak, mami, mandeh, mbok, umi

• mamah

Learned borrowing from Latin mamma, from Ancient Greek μάμμη (mámmē).

mama (plural mama-mama, first-person possessive mamaku, second-person possessive mamamu, third-person possessive mamanya)

1. mamma:
   1. (medicine) breast, udder: The milk-secreting organ of female humans and other mammals which includes the mammary gland and the nipple or teat.

      Synonyms: buah dada, bukit kembar, gunung kembar, payudara, susu, tetek, toket

   2. (meteorology) An accessory cloud like a mammary in appearance, which can form on the underside of most cloud genera.

• “mama” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Borrowed from Russian мама (mama).

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑmɑ/, [ˈmɑmɑ]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑmɑ/, [ˈmɑmɑ]
• Rhymes: -ɑmɑ
• Hyphenation: ma‧ma

mama

1. mum, mama
   • 1936, N. A. Iljin and V. I. Junus, Bukvari iƶoroin șkouluja vart, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva:

     Kana, ka-ka-ka, na, mama, kana.

     A hen, cluck cluck cluck, here, mummy, a hen.

• papa (“dad; papa”)

• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 295

From Latin mamma.

mama m (genitive singular mama, nominative plural mamaí)

1. (literary) breast, pap
2. (anatomy) mamma

   Synonym: faireog mhamach

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “mama”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “mama”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Entries containing “mama” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.

From Latin mamma.

mama f

1. mom, mamma, mother

• mare

mama

1. Rōmaji transcription of まま
2. Rōmaji transcription of ママ

From Portuguese mama.

mama

1. bosom
2. breast of a woman

mama

1. you

• IPA^(key): [ˈmaːma]

mama

1. to chew betel

mama

1. to mother

• Allahverdi Verdizade (2019) “mama”, in Lamboya word list‎, Leiden: LexiRumah

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *mā́ˀmāˀ. Cognates include Latvian mama and Lithuanian mama.

• IPA^(key): [ˈmama]
• Hyphenation: ma‧ma

mama f (diminutive mameņa)

1. (colloquial) mum, mummy

• (more formal) muote

• tēte (“dad”)

• A. Andronov, L. Leikuma (2008) Latgalīšu-Latvīšu-Krīvu sarunu vuordineica, Lvava, →ISBN, page 10

A nursery word. From Proto-Balto-Slavic *mā́ˀmāˀ, from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂-méh₂, a reduplication of *méh₂- - the root of *méh₂tēr (“mother”).

Cognate with Proto-Slavic *mama, German Muhme (“aunt”), Latin mamma (“mother, nurse”), Irish mam (“mother”) among others.

mamà f (plural mãmos) stress pattern 4

1. mother

• mamýtė, mamẽlė (diminutive)

A nursery word. From Proto-Slavic *mama, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *mā́ˀmāˀ, from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂-méh₂, a reduplication of *méh₂- - the root of *méh₂tēr (“mother”).

Cognate with German Muhme (“aunt”), Latin mamma (“mother, nurse”), Irish mam (“mother”), Lithuanian mama, moma (“mother”) among others. Cf. Proto-Slavic *tata, *baba.

• IPA^(key): [ˈmama]

mama f pers (diminutive maminka)

1. mother, mom

• Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928) “mama”, in Słownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague: ОРЯС РАН, ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag, 2008
• Starosta, Manfred (1999) “mama”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag

From ma- and ama.

mama

1. male

mama

1. a male

From ma- and ama.

mama

1. male (clarification of this definition is needed)

mama

1. a male

• IPA^(key): /mama/

mama

1. paternal uncle (one’s father’s brother)

• Dench, Alan Charles. 1995. Martuthunira: A Language of the Pilbara Region of Western Australia. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. Series C-125.

From French maman.

mama

1. mother

From Hindi मामा (māmā) and Marathi मामा (māmā).

mama

1. uncle

   Synonyms: chacha, tonton

• Baker, Philip & Hookoomsing, Vinesh Y. 1987. Dictionnaire de créole mauricien. Morisyen – English – Français

Possibly derived from Middle High German muome, from Old High German muoma, from Proto-West Germanic *mōmā (“mama, mother”), from Proto-Germanic *mōmǭ (“mama, mother; aunt, auntie”). Cognate with German Mama, English mama.

mama f

1. mother

• “mama” in Cimbrian, Ladin, Mòcheno: Getting to know 3 peoples. 2015. Servizio minoranze linguistiche locali della Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trento, Italy.
• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

mama

1. mother

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *màma. First attested in the fifteenth century.

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /mama/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /mama/

mama f

1. mom, mother
   • 1950 [1470], Władysław Kuraszkiewicz, Adam Wolff, editors, Zapiski i roty polskie XV-XVI wieku z ksiąg sądowych ziemi warszawskiej, number 1308:

     Yakom ya Malgorzacze, mamye mey, nye szabral dwu szuknyv

     [Jakom ja Małgorzacie, mamie mej, nie zabrał dwu sukniu]

2. wet nurse, nurse
   • Middle of the 15th century, Rozmyślanie o żywocie Pana Jezusa‎, page 12:

     Nye tako, yako ynne panny czynyv, yze schvkaya ynych opczych mam (non ut solent homines extraneam quaesivit nutricem mater puero), alye swe dzyeczatko svymy pyrszyamy karmyla (sc. Anna)

     [Nie tako, jako inne panny czynią, iże szukają inych obcych mam (non ut solent homines extraneam quaesivit nutricem mater puero), ale swe dzieciątko swymi pirsiami karmiła (sc. Anna)]

• Polish: mama
• Silesian: mama

• Boryś, Wiesław (2005) “mama”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
• Mańczak, Witold (2017) “mama”, in Polski słownik etymologiczny (in Polish), Kraków: Polska Akademia Umiejętności, →ISBN
• Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000) “mama”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, editor (2011–2015), “mama”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *mama.

mama f

1. mom, mother

• Slovak: mama

• Majtán, Milan et al., editors (1991–2008), “mama”, in Historický slovník slovenského jazyka [Historical Dictionary of the Slovak Language] (in Slovak), volumes 1–7 (A – Ž), Bratislava: VEDA, →OCLC

mama

1. genitive/dative singular of ahaṃ (“me”)

• IPA^(key): /mama/

mama

1. father

   Synonym: papu

2. paternal uncle (one’s father’s brother)

• Dench, Alan (1991). "Panyjima", in R.M.W. Dixon and Barry J. Blake: The Handbook of Australian Languages, Volume 4. Melbourne: Oxford University Press Australia, 125–244.

From Dutch mama.

mama

1. mother

• IPA^(key): [ˈmɐmɐ]

mama

1. father

   Synonym: punari

2. father’s older brother or close male friend; uncle

   Synonym: mama puḻka

3. god

Inherited from Old Polish mama.

• IPA^(key): /ˈma.ma/
• (Middle Polish) IPA^(key): /ˈma.ma/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ama
• Syllabification: ma‧ma

mama f

1. mum, mom, mother
2. (Middle Polish) wetnurse

   Synonym: mamka

3. (Middle Polish) nurse, caregiver

   Synonym: piastunka

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), mama is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 0 times in scientific texts, 0 times in news, 1 time in essays, 17 times in fiction, and 93 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 111 times, making it the 552nd most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.[1]

• mama in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• mama in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “mama”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
• Magdalena Majdak (19.02.2015) “MAMA”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century]
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “mama”, in Słownik języka polskiego‎
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “mama”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861‎
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1902), “mama”, in Słownik języka polskiego‎ (in Polish), volume 2, Warsaw, page 868
• mama in Narodowy Fotokorpus Języka Polskiego

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -ɐmɐ, (Brazil) -ɐ̃mɐ
• Hyphenation: ma‧ma

From Latin mamma. Compare Italian mammella, French mamelle.

mama f (plural mamas)

1. (human) breast, bosom
2. (animal) udder, teat

mama

1. inflection of mamar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

mama

1. mother
2. madam, lady
3. (figuratively) nest, home
4. (geology) vein
5. (mathematics) matrix

• jatun mama
• mama qucha

• tayta

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *mamaq.

mama

1. to chew

mama

1. definite nominative/accusative singular of mamă

From Proto-Bantu *mààmá.

māmá class 1a (plural bāmâmá class 2a)

1. my mother
2. my maternal aunt

• nyoko (“your mother”)
• nyina (“his/her mother”)
• data (“my father”)

From Latin mamma, from Ancient Greek μάμμη (mámmē).

• IPA^(key): /ˈmama/

mama f (plural mamas) (Limba Sarda Comuna)

1. mother

• babbu
• tzia

• IPA^(key): /mâma/
• Hyphenation: ma‧ma

mȁma f (Cyrillic spelling ма̏ма)

1. mom

Inherited from Old Polish mama.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmama/
• Rhymes: -ama
• Syllabification: ma‧ma

mama f

1. (colloquial) mom, mother

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:muter

   Coordinate terms: see Thesaurus:fater

• mama in dykcjonorz.eu
• mama in silling.org

Inherited from Old Slovak mama, from Proto-Slavic *mama, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *mā́ˀmāˀ, from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂-méh₂, a reduplication of *méh₂- - the root of *méh₂tēr (“mother”).

• IPA^(key): [ˈmama]

mama f (genitive singular mamy, nominative plural mamy, genitive plural mám, declension pattern of žena)

1. mama

• “mama”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024

From Latin mamma.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmama/ [ˈma.ma]
• Rhymes: -ama
• Syllabification: ma‧ma

mama f (plural mamas)

1. (anatomy) mamma, breast

   Synonyms: pecho, seno

mama

1. inflection of mamar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• “mama”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

• m'ma
• mma

• IPA^(key): /mːa/, /maˈma/

mama

1. mother
2. (figuratively, in compounds) origin, source, centre, basis

• Audio (Kenya)

  (file)

mama (n class, plural mama)

1. mother (female parent)

   Coordinate term: baba

2. Respectful term of address for an older woman.

• mama mkwe (“mother-in-law”)
• mama wa kambo (“stepmother”)
• mama mboga (“female vegetable hawker”)
• mama ntilie (“female food hawker”)
• mama samaki (“female fish hawker”)
• mama mdogo (“mother's younger sister”)
• mama mkubwa (“mother's elder sister”)

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *mama, from Proto-Austronesian *mamah (“father’s brother”). Also possibly borrowed from Sanskrit माम (māma) or from Tamil மாமா (māmā). Compare Malay mamak.

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈmamaʔ/ [ˈma.mɐʔ]
• Rhymes: -amaʔ
• Syllabification: ma‧ma

mamà (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜋ)

1. a term used in referring to, or in addressing, a male unknown to the speaker

   Synonyms: mang, manong

2. (archaic, familiar) uncle (parent's younger brother)
3. (archaic, familiar, childish) any relative of the father or mother

• Template:ltl

• Template:ltl

Each pronunciation has a different source:

• /maˈma/ from Spanish mamá, adapted from French maman
• /ma.ma/ from Hokkien 媽媽／妈妈 (mâ-mâ)
• /ˈmama/ from English mama / momma

• (Standard Tagalog)
  • IPA^(key): /maˈma/ [mɐˈma] (Spanish pronunciation)
    • Rhymes: -a
  • IPA^(key): /mama/ [ma.ma] (Hokkien pronunciation)
    • Rhymes: -ama
  • IPA^(key): /ˈmama/ [ˈma.mɐ] (English pronunciation)
    • Rhymes: -ama
• Syllabification: ma‧ma

mama or mamá (masculine papa, Baybayin spelling ᜋᜋ) (colloquial, familiar, childish)

1. mum, mom

   Synonyms: ma, ina, nanay, inay, nay, inang, nanang

From Proto-Philippine *mamaq, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *mamaq (“chew without intending to swallow, as betel nut; premasticate food to give to an infant; premasticated food”). Compare Javanese ꦩꦩꦃ (mamah) and Malay mamah.

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /maˈmaʔ/ [mɐˈmaʔ]
• Rhymes: -aʔ
• Syllabification: ma‧ma

mamâ (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜋ)

1. betelnut chewing

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /maˈmaʔ/ [mɐˈmaʔ]
• Rhymes: -aʔ
• Syllabification: ma‧ma

mamâ (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜋ) (obsolete)

1. name of the Baybayin letter ᜋ (ma), corresponding to "ma"

• ma

• “mama”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
• San Buena Ventura, Fr. Pedro de (1613) Juan de Silva, editor, Vocabulario de lengua tagala: El romance castellano puesto primero‎, La Noble Villa de Pila
  • page 173: “Comer) Mama (pc) buyo”
  • page 400: “M) Mama (pc) letra del .A.b.c. Tagalog .|. mama yaon .|. ᜋ . ſumulat ca nang mama nang iniõg ſulat, eſcriue la. M. de bueſtra eſcritura, yſulat mo aco nang mama, eſcriueme vna .M.”
  • page 575: “Tio) Mama (pp) llamandole el ſobrino y como en Eſpañol vſamos llamar tio al hias viejo, tambien lo vſan eſtos y diçen, mama ay, ola tio, yaring ſi mama a, eſte mi tio.”

mama

1. to chew betel

From English mama.

mama

1. mother

   Antonym: papa

   • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 3:20:

     Man i kolim meri bilong em Iv, long wanem, em i tumbuna mama bilong olgeta manmeri.

     →New International Version translation

• mama karim

mama class 1a (plural ŵamama class 2)

1. mother, mom

• dada

• IPA^(key): [mɑˈmɑ]
• Hyphenation: ma‧ma

mama (definite accusative mamayı, plural mamalar)

1. baby food
2. pet food
3. food (in child's language)