noun
Meaning 1
Mother.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, archaic, humorous, slang
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
mater
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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Received-Pronunciation: /ˈmeɪtə/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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US: /ˈmeɪtɚ/
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US:
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General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -eɪtə(ɹ)
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CMU ARPABET: M AA1 T ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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CMU ARPABET 2: M EY1 T ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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CMU ARPABET 3: M AE1 T ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A meninx; the dura mater, arachnoid mater, or pia mater of the brain.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
Someone or something that mates.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: biology, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
Alternative form of 'mater (“tomato”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, alternative
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
an informal use of the Latin word for mother; sometimes used by British schoolboys or used facetiously
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: mother, female parent
History
Etymology
From Latin māter (“mother”), partly via Late Middle English matere. Doublet of mata and mother. Ancestor of matrix.
From mate + -er.
See 'mater.
Real reading context