Meaning
Synonym of mother (“a female parent”).
Etymology
Origin: Latin
The origin of the noun is uncertain; it is probably a reduplication of ma, thought to be a sound made by babies when breastfeeding. The word is possibly influenced by Middle French maman (“mother”) (modern French maman), mamme (both probably from Latin mamma (“breast; nurse; (childish) mother, mama; grandmother”), probably cognate with Ancient Greek μᾰ́μμη (mắmmē, “breast; (childish) mother, mama; (Koine) grandmother”), both possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂- (“to nurse; mama, mother”)), but this is also uncertain as all the words could have developed independently as onomatopoeias. Etymology 1, noun sense 3 (“(Caribbean) used as a term of address for a woman”) is possibly partly from a West African language; compare Akan mmá, mmaa (“woman”). The interjection and verb are derived from the noun.
Synonyms & Antonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
Accepted in 77 recorded puzzles:
- 2026-09-17MAFILOY
- 2026-09-05MACGIKN
- 2026-08-14MADGINT
- 2026-07-31MAILOPT
- 2026-07-13MACILOT
- 2026-06-26MACGILY
- 2026-06-23AIJMNRU
- 2026-06-19ACDEIMY
- 2026-06-04MANIDLT
- 2026-05-28AGIJMNU
- 2026-05-15MANGCIP
- 2026-04-19MATLINU
+65 earlier appearances in the archive.