mothering

as innurse
as inprocreate
as inpropagate
as inreproduce
as inspawn
as incare

Synonyms for mothering

verb care for, tend

Antonyms for mothering

Word Origin & History

Old English modor "female parent," from Proto-Germanic *mothær (cf. Old Saxon modar, Old Frisian moder, Old Norse moðir, Danish moder, Dutch moeder, Old High German muoter, German Mutter), from PIE *mater- "mother" (cf. Latin mater, Old Irish mathir, Lithuanian mote, Sanskrit matar-, Greek meter, Old Church Slavonic mati), "[b]ased ultimately on the baby-talk form *mā- (2); with the kinship term suffix *-ter-" [Watkins]. Spelling with -th- dates from early 16c., though that pronunciation is probably older.

Mother nature first attested c.1600; mother earth is from 1580s. Mother tongue "one's native language" first attested late 14c. Mother of all ________ 1991, is Gulf War slang, from Saddam Hussein's use in reference to the coming battle; it is an Arabic idiom (as well as an English one), cf. Ayesha, second wife of Muhammad, known as Mother of Believers. Mother Carey's chickens is late 18c. sailors' nickname for storm petrels, or for snowflakes. Mother lode attested by c.1882, from mining [1849].

Example Sentences for mothering

She says there's so much in her, and that she only wants 'mothering' to bring her out.

It is the way with maids, the nearer they are to mothering the less they wish to hear of it.

Again he had to bear the mothering of her understanding eyes.

And she certainly was a thoughtful and “mothering” sister to the little ones.

They seemed comfortable; gossipy they were, and fond of mothering the girls.

The mothering instinct in her for the first time seemed to fail a little.

So he has taken advantage of your mothering his baby, has he?

Didn't she do her full share of the work by mothering the baby?

Here and there we get glimpses of her mothering love for the little one.

Sure it's the Holy Virgin herself that'll be mothering them, and the likes of them.