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.

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, P. G. Wodehouse, A Damsel in Distress, page 100:

     Their maters are all pals of my mater, 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 (lyrics and music), “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

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.

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, 1935–1957
• mater in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
• mater in Internetová jazyková příručka

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

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Classical) 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. ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

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.

Case	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
• māternus
• māternālis
• mātertera
• mātricīda
• mātrimōnium
• mātruēlis
• mātrālis
• mātrēscō
• mātrīx
• mātrōna

 

Related terms

• māternitās
• mātricīdium
• mātrimus
• mātrimōniālis
• mātrīcula
• mātrīculārius
• mātrīcālis
• 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
  • Venetian: mare
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Old Franco-Provençal: *mādre, māðre
    • 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
    • Galician: mai, nai
    • Portuguese: mãe
      • Angolar: maa
      • Annobonese: mai, me
      • Guinea-Bissau Creole: mai
      • Indo-Portuguese: mãe, mai
      • Kabuverdianu: mai
      • Kristang: mai
      • Principense: mwin
      • Sãotomense: men
  • 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
  • → Novial: matra

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 (genitive singular matere, nominative plural matere, genitive plural materí, declension pattern of dlaň)

1. mother

Declension

Declension of mater

	singular	plural
nominative	mater	matere
genitive	matere	materí
dative	materi	materiam
accusative	mater	matere
locative	materi	materiach
instrumental	materou	materami

Derived terms

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

 

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, 2024

Welsh

Etymology

From English matter.

Noun

mater m (plural materion)

1. matter, affair

   Synonyms: neges, busnes

2. substance

   Synonyms: sylwedd, defnydd

Derived terms

• gwerthfater m (“antimatter”)
• mater tywyll m (“dark matter”)
• materol (“material”, adjective)

 

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
mater	fater	unchanged	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

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