English
mother
Mother comes from Middle English moder ‘a mother’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méh₂tērreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mōdērreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mōderreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150mōdor
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500moder‘a mother’
- Englishearliest quotation 1530mother
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méh₂tērreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mōdērreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mōderreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150mōdor
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500moder‘a mother’
- Englishearliest quotation 1530mother
Earliest quotation: 1530, W[illiam] T[yndale]: “And Adã called his wyfe Heua⸝ becauſe ſhe was…”
The story
Some have proposed that the "dregs" sense is from Middle Dutch modder (‘filth’), from Proto-Germanic *muþraz (‘sediment’), but modder is not known in this meaning. On the other hand, words for "mother" have developed the secondary sense of "dregs" in several Romance and Germanic languages; compare Dutch moer, French mère de vinaigre, German Essigmutter, Italian madre, Medieval Latin māter, and Spanish madre.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr
matter, material, matrix, mat, maternal, maternity, matron, materiel, madrigal, materia, metra, 18 more
Another origin of mother
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méh₂tērreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mōdērreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mōderreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150mōdor
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500moderas modren‘a mother’
- Englishtodaymother
Today it means
noun A female parent, especially of a human; a female who parents a child (which she has given birth to, adopted, fostered, etc).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr / mother