mam
English edit
Etymology edit
Alteration or clipping of mama. Compare Scots mam, Early Scots mame (“mother”), mamye (“wet nurse”), Saterland Frisian Määme (“mother”), West Frisian mem (“mother”). Alternatively, possibly either conserved from or influenced by earlier Brythonic language.
Noun edit
mam (plural mams)
- (UK, Ireland, regional, informal, colloquial) Mum, mom; diminutive of mother.
- 2021, Glenda Young, The Miner's Lass:
- She'd sit by the fire, arms crossed, demanding that Ruby spike her tea with a cinder. But Ruby would never give in to her demands, no matter how much her mam begged. There was no alcohol in the house now; Arthur had made sure of that in an effort to get Mary sober.
Usage notes edit
- Used in place of mum or ma in Scotland, Northumbrian dialects such as Geordie, as well as throughout Ireland and Liverpool, Kingston upon Hull, and the South Wales valleys; the Welsh word for mother is mam.
See also edit
See also edit
References edit
- A Dictionary of North East Dialect, Bill Griffiths, 2005, Northumbria University Press, →ISBN
- Newcastle 1970s, Scott Dobson and Dick Irwin, [1]
Anagrams edit
Bahnar edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-Bahnaric *maːm. Cognate with Sedang méam.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
mam
Derived terms edit
Cebuano edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from English ma'am, contraction of madam.
Noun edit
mam
Czech edit
Etymology edit
Deverbal from mámit (“to deceive”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
mam m inan
Declension edit
Further reading edit
Dutch edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
mam f (plural mammen, diminutive mammetje n)
Irish edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.) Compare Old Irish muimme (“foster mother”), Proto-Celtic *mammā.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
mam f (genitive singular maime, nominative plural mamanna)
Declension edit
Synonyms edit
Mutation edit
Irish mutation | ||
---|---|---|
Radical | Lenition | Eclipsis |
mam | mham | not applicable |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
Further reading edit
- Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “mam”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
K'iche' edit
Noun edit
mam
Lower Sorbian edit
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
mam
Derived terms edit
Luxembourgish edit
Contraction edit
mam
Mpade edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-Central Chadic *ɗawɨm.
Noun edit
mam f
References edit
- S. Allison, Makary Kotoko Provisional Lexicon (SIL)
- R.C. Gravina, The Phonology of Proto-Central Chadic
North Frisian edit
Etymology edit
Cognates include West Frisian mem.
Noun edit
mam f (plural mamen)
- (Mooring, Föhr-Amrum) mother
- mam an aatj
- mother and father
Polish edit
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
mam
Verb edit
mam
Noun edit
mam f
Further reading edit
- mam in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Q'anjob'al edit
Noun edit
mam
Serbo-Croatian edit
Adverb edit
mam (Cyrillic spelling мам)
Related terms edit
Spanish edit
Etymology edit
From the name in Mam, of Mayan origin.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
mam m or f (masculine and feminine plural mames)
- (relational) Mam (of or relating to the Mam people)
Noun edit
mam m (uncountable)
- Mam (language)
Noun edit
mam m or f by sense (plural mam or mames)
Further reading edit
- “mam”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Welsh edit
Etymology edit
From Middle Welsh mam, from Proto-Brythonic *mamm, from Proto-Celtic *mammā, a baby talk word replacing Proto-Celtic *mātīr.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
mam f (plural mamau)
Usage notes edit
Some, especially northern, dialects employ a non-standard aspirate mutation of mam to mham. In practice, this only occurs after the determiner ei (“her”). See also nain to nhain for a similar example.
Coordinate terms edit
Derived terms edit
- cariad mam (“maternal love”)
- ein mam ni oll (“the mother of us all, the earth”)
- ffigwr mam (“mother figure”)
- llysfam (“stepmother”)
- mam cŵn bach (“over-protective mother”)
- Mam Duw (“Mother of God”)
- mam ddaear (“mother earth”)
- mam ddibriod (“unmarried mother”)
- mam faeth (“foster mother”)
- mam fedydd (“godmother”)
- mam feichiog (“expectant mother”)
- mam fenthyg (“surrogate mother”)
- mam frenhines (“queen mother”)
- mam goeden (“seed tree”)
- mam miloedd (“mind-your-own-business, Soleirolia soleirolii; ivy-leaved toadflax, Cymbalaria muralis”)
- mam sy'n bwydo o'r fron (“nursing mother”)
- mam weddw (“widowed mother”)
- mam wen (“stepmother”)
- mam y drwg (“cause or root of evil”)
- mam y glo (“mother of coal, impure coal in a coal seam”)
- mam yng nghyfraith (“mother-in-law; wild pansy, Viola tricolor”)
- mam yn ei harddegau (“teenage mother”)
- mam yn Israel (“mother in Israel, elderly woman much loved by her family or community”)
- Mam (“Mum, Mam, Mom”)
- mam-dâp (“father tape”)
- mam-gu (“grandmother”)
- mameglwys (“mother-church”)
- mami (“mummy, mammy, mommy”)
- mamiaith (“mother tongue”)
- mamol (“motherly, maternal”)
- mamwlad (“mother country, fatherland”)
- Môn Mam Cymru (“Anglesey, the Mother of Wales”)
- parablu mam (“motherese”)
- yr Hen Fam (“Church of England”)
Mutation edit
Welsh mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
mam | fam | unchanged | mham△ |
△Irregular. | |||
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
References edit
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “mam”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
Wemba-Wemba edit
Noun edit
mam
Yucatec Maya edit
Noun edit
mam