mater

See also: mateř, mâter, mäter, and måter

English

Etymology 1

From Latin māter (“mother”), partly via Late Middle English matere. Doublet of mata and mother. Ancestor of matrix.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmeɪtə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmeɪtɚ/, /ˈmɑtɚ/
• Rhymes: -eɪtə(ɹ)

Noun

mater (plural maters or matres)

1. (British, slang, now chiefly archaic or humorous) Mother.

   Coordinate term: pater

   • 1919 June 14, Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, “A Damsel in Distress”, in George Horace Lorimer, editor, The Saturday Evening Post, volume 191, number 50, Philadelphia, Pa.: The Curtis Publishing Company, →ISSN, chapter XX, page 57, column 1:

     Their maters are all pals of my mater’s, and I don’t want to get them into trouble for aiding and abetting my little show, if you understand what I mean.

   • 1923, Warwick Deeping, “John Stretton”, in The Secret Sanctuary (The Scherz Phoenix Books), Berne: Alfred Scherz Publishers, published 1945, →OCLC, page 32:

     And then there’s the mater! Poor old mater! She goes about on tiptoe; she’s always watching me and pretending she’s not watching me; I believe she would like to have everything padded with feather beds. All the while she has been wanting me to do the goody book thing, get down on my knees and put my head in her lap and blub.

   • 1985, Mick Hucknall, Neil Moss, “Holding Back the Years”, in Picture Book, performed by Simply Red:

     Strangled by the wishes of pater / Hoping for the arms of mater / Get to me the sooner or later

   • 1997, Colleen McCullough, Caesar’s Women, page 17:

     “Mater, you look well.” / “I am well. And you,” she said in that dryly prosaic deep voice of hers, “look healed.”

2. (anatomy) A meninx; the dura mater, arachnoid mater, or pia mater of the brain.

Related terms

• alma mater
• arachnoid mater
• dura mater
• mater dolorosa
• mater lectionis
• matri-
• matrix
• pia mater
• stabat mater

Etymology 2

From mate +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmeɪtə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmeɪtɚ/
• Rhymes: -eɪtə(ɹ)

Noun

mater (plural maters)

1. (biology) Someone or something that mates.

Etymology 3

See 'mater.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmeɪtɚ/
• Rhymes: -eɪtə(ɹ)

Noun

mater (plural maters)

1. Alternative form of 'mater (“tomato”)
   • 2015, Ann B. Ross, Miss Julia's Marvelous Makeover, →ISBN, page 28:

     "A mater sandwich would be better." Trixie said, "but I'll take it if that's all you got." As if we were woefully deprived of food. So Trixie had a tomato sandwich for lunch, carefully prepared by Lillian but for which she received no thanks.

Derived terms

• mater sammich

Anagrams

• METAR, Marte, armet, metra, ramet, tamer, terma, trema, tréma

Czech

Etymology

Derived from Latin māter.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmatɛr]
• Rhymes: -atɛr

Noun

mater f (indeclinable)

1. title of an abbess

Related terms

• imatrikulace
• imatrikulovat
• materialismus
• materialista
• materialistický
• materializovat
• materiál
• maternální
• maternita
• matérie
• matriarchální
• matriarchát
• matrice
• matrika
• matrikář
• matrikářka
• matrimoniální
• matrimonium
• matrix
• matrona

See also

• matka

Further reading

• “mater”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “mater”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “mater”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma.te/

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From mat (“mate”) +‎ -er.

Verb

mater

1. (transitive) to checkmate
2. (figuratively, transitive) to suppress, quell (a revolution, person, insurrection)
   • 1997, “L'Empire du côté obscur”, in L'École du micro d'argent, performed by IAM:

     Adapter ma technique à la manière du caméléon / Sans pitié pour mater la rébellion

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Conjugation

Conjugation of mater (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	mater
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	matant /ma.tɑ̃/
	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		maté /ma.te/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	mate /mat/	mates /mat/	mate /mat/	matons /ma.tɔ̃/	matez /ma.te/	matent /mat/
	imperfect	matais /ma.tɛ/	matais /ma.tɛ/	matait /ma.tɛ/	mations /ma.tjɔ̃/	matiez /ma.tje/	mataient /ma.tɛ/
	past historic2	matai /ma.te/	matas /ma.ta/	mata /ma.ta/	matâmes /ma.tam/	matâtes /ma.tat/	matèrent /ma.tɛʁ/
	future	materai /ma.tʁe/	materas /ma.tʁa/	matera /ma.tʁa/	materons /ma.tʁɔ̃/	materez /ma.tʁe/	materont /ma.tʁɔ̃/
	conditional	materais /ma.tʁɛ/	materais /ma.tʁɛ/	materait /ma.tʁɛ/	materions /ma.tə.ʁjɔ̃/	materiez /ma.tə.ʁje/	materaient /ma.tʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior2	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	mate /mat/	mates /mat/	mate /mat/	mations /ma.tjɔ̃/	matiez /ma.tje/	matent /mat/
	imperfect2	matasse /ma.tas/	matasses /ma.tas/	matât /ma.ta/	matassions /ma.ta.sjɔ̃/	matassiez /ma.ta.sje/	matassent /ma.tas/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	mate /mat/	—	matons /ma.tɔ̃/	matez /ma.te/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Etymology 2

Uncertain, perhaps from Spanish mata (“bush”).

Verb

mater

1. (slang, transitive) to ogle, to check out, to watch (e.g. an attractive person)
   • 1997, “Demain, c’est loin”, in L'École du micro d'argent, performed by IAM:

     Mater les photos, majeur aujourd’hui, poto / Pas mal d’amis se sont déjà tués en moto

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Conjugation

Conjugation of mater (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	mater
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	matant /ma.tɑ̃/
	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		maté /ma.te/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	mate /mat/	mates /mat/	mate /mat/	matons /ma.tɔ̃/	matez /ma.te/	matent /mat/
	imperfect	matais /ma.tɛ/	matais /ma.tɛ/	matait /ma.tɛ/	mations /ma.tjɔ̃/	matiez /ma.tje/	mataient /ma.tɛ/
	past historic2	matai /ma.te/	matas /ma.ta/	mata /ma.ta/	matâmes /ma.tam/	matâtes /ma.tat/	matèrent /ma.tɛʁ/
	future	materai /ma.tʁe/	materas /ma.tʁa/	matera /ma.tʁa/	materons /ma.tʁɔ̃/	materez /ma.tʁe/	materont /ma.tʁɔ̃/
	conditional	materais /ma.tʁɛ/	materais /ma.tʁɛ/	materait /ma.tʁɛ/	materions /ma.tə.ʁjɔ̃/	materiez /ma.tə.ʁje/	materaient /ma.tʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior2	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	mate /mat/	mates /mat/	mate /mat/	mations /ma.tjɔ̃/	matiez /ma.tje/	matent /mat/
	imperfect2	matasse /ma.tas/	matasses /ma.tas/	matât /ma.ta/	matassions /ma.ta.sjɔ̃/	matassiez /ma.ta.sje/	matassent /ma.tas/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	mate /mat/	—	matons /ma.tɔ̃/	matez /ma.te/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Further reading

• “mater”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• marte, trame, tramé, tréma

Latin

Picture dictionary

Network Diagram for Roman Extended Families

atavia

atavus

abavia

abavus

proavia

proavus

avia

/ ava māterna

avus māternus

avia

/ ava paterna

avus paternus

cōnsobrīna

/ mātruēlis

cōnsobrīnus

/ mātruēlis

patruēlis

patruēlis

mātertera

avunculus

amita

patruus

/ barbās

māter

pater

sobrīna

/neptis

/neptia

sobrīnus

/ nepōs

frātruēlis

/neptis

/neptia

nepōs

/frātruus

/frātruēlis

sorōrius

/marītus sorōris

soror

frāter

frātria

/ uxor frātris

socrus

socer

/patraster

socrus

socer

/patraster

soror uxōris

frāter uxōris

glōs

lēvir

uxor

/marīta

/coniunx

/nūpta

marītus

/coniunx

gener

/ fīliaster

fīlia

/ nāta

fīlius

/ nātus

nurus

/ fīliastra

prōgener

neptis

/neptia

nepōs

prōnurus

proneptis

pronepōs

abneptis

abnepōs

Click on blue labels in the image.

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *mātēr, from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr. Cognate with Old English mōdor (English mother).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈmaː.ter/, [ˈmäːt̪ɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈma.ter/, [ˈmäːt̪er]
• Hyphenation: ma‧ter

Noun

māter f (genitive mātris); third declension

1. mother (female parent)

   Synonym: genetrīx

   Nē, māter; suam. ― Weave, mother; [so that] I [can] sew.

2. mother (source, origin)
3. matron of a house
4. honorific title
5. woman
6. nurse
7. motherland
8. maternity, motherhood

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	māter	mātrēs
genitive	mātris	mātrum
dative	mātrī	mātribus
accusative	mātrem	mātrēs
ablative	mātre	mātribus
vocative	māter	mātrēs

Derived terms

• alma māter
• māter lectiōnis
• mātercula
• māterfamiliās
• māternālis
• māternus
• mātertera
• mātrālis
• mātrēscō
• mātricīda
• mātrimōnium
• mātrīx
• mātrōna
• mātruēlis

Related terms

• māternitās
• mātrīcālis
• mātricīdium
• mātrīcula
• mātrīculārius
• mātrimōniālis
• mātrimus
• mātrōnālis
• mātrōnātus

Descendants

• Italo-Romance:
  • Italian: madre
  • Sicilian: matri
• North Italian:
  • Friulian: mari
  • Gallo-Italic:
    • Emilian: mare, mèr, mèdar, madra
    • Ligurian: moæ, mâre, mâje
    • Lombard: mader, madar, madra
    • Piedmontese: mare, mari, mèri
  • Istriot: mare
  • Ladin: mère
  • Venetan: mare
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Franco-Provençal: mâre
  • Old French: mere, medre
    • Bourguignon: meire
    • Middle French: mere
      • French: mère
        • Haitian Creole: mè
    • Norman: mère, méthe
    • Walloon: mere
• Occitano-Romance:
  • Catalan: mare
  • Gascon: mair
  • Occitan: maire

    Limousin: mair

• Ibero-Romance:
  • Aragonese: mai
  • Old Leonese:
    • Asturian: madre, ma
    • Extremaduran: mairi
    • Leonese: mai
    • Mirandese: mai, madre
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: madre
    • Galician: madre
    • Portuguese: madre
    • Fala: mairi
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: mãy
    • Fala: má
    • Galician: mai, nai
    • Portuguese: mãe (see there for further descendants)
  • Old Spanish: madre
    • Ladino:

      Hebrew script: מאדרי

      Latin script: madre

    • Spanish: madre
      • → Tagalog: madre
• Borrowings:
  • → English: mater
  • → Ido: matro
    • → Esperanto: matro
  • → Interlingua: matre
  • → Middle English: matere
    • English: mater

See also

• mamma
• pater

References

• “mater”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “mater”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • son of such and such a father, mother: patre, (e) matre natus
    

Middle English

Noun

mater (plural maters)

1. Alternative form of matere
   • 1470–1483 (date produced), Thom̃s Malleorre [i.e., Thomas Malory], “[Morte Arthur]”, in Le Morte Darthur (British Library Additional Manuscript 59678), [England: s.n.], folio 449, verso, lines 15–18:

     Than ſpake ẜ Gawayne And ſeyde brothir · ẜ Aggravayne I pray you and charge you meve no ſuch · maters no more a fore me fro wyte you well I woll nat be of youre counceyle //

     Then spoke Sir Gawain, and said, “Brother, Sir Agrivain, I pray you and charge you move not such matters any more before me, for be ye assured I will not be of your counsel.”

Norman

Verb

mater

1. to kill

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

mater

1. present of mate

Serbo-Croatian

Noun

mater

1. accusative singular of mati
2. (by extension, regional) Alternative form of mati

Anagrams

• trema, metra

Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *mati.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmacɛr/

Noun

mater f

1. mother

Declension

This entry needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

• materčina
• materina dúška
• materinský
• materný
• materský
• materstvo

Further reading

• “mater”, 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, 2003–2025

Welsh

Etymology

From English matter.

Noun

mater m (plural materion)

1. matter, affair

   Synonyms: neges, busnes

2. substance

   Synonyms: sylwedd, defnydd

Derived terms

• cyflwr mater (“state of matter”)
• gwrthfater (“antimatter”)
• mater tywyll (“dark matter”)
• materol (“material”)
• materydd (“philosophical materialist”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of mater

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
mater	fater	unchanged	unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “mater”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies