materteral

English

Etymology

From Latin mātertera (“maternal aunt”) + -al.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /məˈtɜːtəɹəl/

Adjective

materteral (comparative more materteral, superlative most materteral)

1. Pertaining to, or in the manner of, an aunt.
   • 1990, (US), Peter Van Inwagen, Material Beings, Cornell University Press, →ISBN, page 9:

     It may be that stipulations about parts and wholes are, in some way that undermines my materteral analogies, unlike stipulations about aunts and legacies.

   • 2004, (UK), Saif Rahman, Archipelago, Twenty First Century Publishers Ltd, →ISBN, page 150:

     Only some insistent pleading (materteral rather than avuncular) had changed their mind.

   • 2006, (US), R. D. Chrisman, Cathedral Ledge, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 123:

     It pleased her to see Aunt Maude waiting tables. Smiling to herself, Alice reflected that Maude was materteral ... like a kindly aunt.

   • 2013 October 5, Bee Rowlatt, “Japan's new luxury sleeper train [print edition: Suite surrender on the rails]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Travel)‎^[1], archived from the original on 9 November 2013, page T9:

     A materteral lady told me that people come here from the city in search of peace.

Synonyms

• materterine

Coordinate terms

• avuncular – uncle
• maternal – mother
• paternal – father

References

• The Oxford English Dictionary has materteral and materterine, both derived from the Latin mātertera ("maternal aunt"), and described as "humorously pedantic"; for "characteristic of an aunt". There are two quotations : With maternal and materteral anxiety (1823) and A kindly materterine message (1874).

Anagrams

• maltreater, tetrameral