stepmother
See also: step-mother
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
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”).
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
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
- Coordinate term: stepfather
- Hypernym: stepparent
- (botany, rare) A viola, especially Viola tricolor, heartsease.
- 1974, Thomas Teal, translating Tove Jansson, The Summer Book, Sort Of Books 2003, p. 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.
- 1974, Thomas Teal, translating Tove Jansson, The Summer Book, Sort Of Books 2003, p. 115:
Usage notesEdit
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.
SynonymsEdit
- 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)
TranslationsEdit
wife of one's biological father, not one's biological mother
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