English
matron
Matron comes from Old French matrone ‘senior, respectable woman’, from Latin māter ‘mother’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méh₂tēr‘mother’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*mātēr‘mother’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmāter‘mother’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmātrōna‘married woman’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400matrone‘senior, respectable woman’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘Such a woman who can examine a man too see whether he is virile’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606matron
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méh₂tēr‘mother’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*mātēr‘mother’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmāter‘mother’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmātrōna‘married woman’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400matrone‘senior, respectable woman’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘Such a woman who can examine a man too see whether he is virile’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606matron
Earliest quotation: c. 1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Macbeth: “But there’s no bottome, none / In my Voluptuouſneſſe…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr ‘mother’
through Proto-Italic *mātēr ‘mother’
through Latin māter ‘mother’
matter, material, maternal, matrix, maternity, mater, madrigal, 14 more
Today it means
noun A mature or elderly woman, especially one of a higher social rank.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr / matron