stepmother
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See also: step-mother
English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English stepmoder, from Old English stēopmōdor, from Proto-Germanic *steupamōdēr (“stepmother”), corresponding to step- + mother. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Stäifmuur (“stepmother”), Dutch stiefmoeder (“stepmother”), German Low German Steevmoder (“stepmother”), German Stiefmutter (“stepmother”), Danish stedmor (“stepmother”), Swedish styvmor (“stepmother”), Icelandic stjúpmóðir (“stepmother”). Compare also West Frisian styfmem (“stepmother”).
Pronunciation
[edit]- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈstɛpmʌðə/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Hyphenation: step‧moth‧er
Noun
[edit]stepmother (plural stepmothers)
- The wife of one's biological father, other than one's biological mother.
- Synonyms: (euphemistic) bonus mother, (same-sex and polygamous families) co-mother
- Hypernym: stepparent
- Coordinate term: stepfather
- (botany, rare) A viola, especially Viola tricolor, heartsease.
- 1974, Tove Jansson, translated by Thomas Teal, The Summer Book, Sort Of Books, published 2003, page 115:
- The second came up about ten days later in the lee of the channel marker, and it was called stepmother, or love-in-idelness.
Usage notes
[edit]- In Western heterosexual couples, this is typically after the divorce or death of the birth mother; in polygamous marriages and lesbian couples, the term may be used for co-mother or nonbirth mother.
Synonyms
[edit]- mother-in-law (dated)
- stepdame (archaic)
Dialectal forms:
- stepma (chiefly Ireland, US regional)
- stepmam (chiefly Ireland, Northern England)
- stepmama (chiefly US regional)
- stepmamma (chiefly US regional)
- stepmom (chiefly US)
- stepmomma (chiefly US, informal)
- stepmommy (chiefly US, informal)
- stepmum (chiefly UK, Commonwealth)
- stepmummy (chiefly UK, Commonwealth, informal)
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]wife of one's biological father, not one's biological mother
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See also
[edit]Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms prefixed with step-
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Botany
- English terms with rare senses
- English terms with quotations
- en:Female family members
- en:Violet family plants
- en:Parents