1.  A female parent; especially, one of the human race; a woman who has borne a child. [1913 Webster]

2.  That which has produced or nurtured anything; source of birth or origin; generatrix. [1913 Webster]
"Alas! poor country! . . . it can not
Be called our mother, but our grave." [1913 Webster]
"I behold . . . the solitary majesty of Crete, mother of a religion, it is said, that lived two thousand years." [1913 Webster]

3.  An old woman or matron. [1913 Webster]

4.  The female superior or head of a religious house, as an abbess, etc. [1913 Webster]

5.  Hysterical passion; hysteria. Shak. [1913 Webster]

   Received by birth or from ancestors; native, natural; as, mother language; also acting the part, or having the place of a mother; producing others; originating. [1913 Webster]
"It is the mother falsehood from which all idolatry is derived." [1913 Webster]

   To adopt as a son or daughter; to perform the duties of a mother to. [1913 Webster]
"The queen, to have put lady Elizabeth besides the crown, would have mothered another body's child." [1913 Webster]

   A film or membrane which is developed on the surface of fermented alcoholic liquids, such as vinegar, wine, etc., and acts as a means of conveying the oxygen of the air to the alcohol and other combustible principles of the liquid, thus leading to their oxidation. [1913 Webster]
" The film is composed of a mass of rapidly developing microörganisms of the genus Mycoderma, and in the mother of vinegar the microörganisms (Mycoderma aceti) composing the film are the active agents in the Conversion of the alcohol into vinegar. When thickened by growth, the film may settle to the bottom of the fluid. See Acetous fermentation, under Fermentation." [1913 Webster]

   To become like, or full of, mother, or thick matter, as vinegar. [1913 Webster]

1.  Same as motherfucker. [PJC]

2.  A person or thing with some exceptional quality, as great size or power; as, a grizzly stuck his nose in my tent and I grabbed my pistol and shot the mother. [PJC]

mother, n. & v.
--n.
1 a a woman in relation to a child or children to whom she has given birth. b (in full adoptive mother) a woman who has continuous care of a child, esp. by adoption.
2 any female animal in relation to its offspring.
3 a quality or condition etc. that gives rise to another (necessity is the mother of invention).
4 (in full Mother Superior) the head of a female religious community.
5 archaic (esp. as a form of address) an elderly woman.
6 (attrib.) a designating an institution etc. regarded as having maternal authority (Mother Church; mother earth). b designating the main ship, spacecraft, etc., in a convoy or mission (the mother craft).
--v.tr.
1 give birth to; be the mother of.
2 protect as a mother.
3 give rise to; be the source of.
4 acknowledge or profess oneself the mother of.

Idiom:
Mother Carey's chicken = storm petrel 1. mother country a country in relation to its colonies. mother-figure an older woman who is regarded as a source of nurture, support, etc. Mother Goose rhyme US a nursery rhyme. mother-in-law (pl. mothers-in-law) the mother of one's husband or wife. mother-in-law's tongue a plant, Sansevieria trifasciata, with long erect pointed leaves. mother-lode Mining the main vein of a system. mother naked stark naked. mother-of-pearl a smooth iridescent substance forming the inner layer of the shell of some molluscs. Mother's Day
1 Brit. = MOTHERING SUNDAY.
2 US an equivalent day on the second Sunday in May. mother's ruin colloq. gin. mother's son colloq. a man (every mother's son of you).
mother tongue
1 one's native language.
2 a language from which others have evolved. mother wit native wit; common sense.

Derivative:
motherhood n. motherless adj. motherlessness n. motherlike adj. & adv.

Etymology:
OE modor f. Gmc

N  uncleanness, impurity, immundity, immundicity, impurity, defilement, contamination, defoedation, soilure, soiliness, abomination, leaven, taint, tainture, fetor, decay, putrescence, putrefaction, corruption, mold, must, mildew, dry rot, mucor, rubigo, slovenry, slovenliness, squalor, dowdy, drab, slut, malkin, slattern, sloven, slammerkin, slammock, slummock, scrub, draggle-tail, mudlark, dust-man, sweep, beast, dirt, filth, soil, slop, dust, cobweb, flue, smoke, soot, smudge, smut, grit, grime, raff, sossle, sozzle, sordes, dregs, grounds, lees, argol, sediment, settlement heeltap, dross, drossiness, mother, precipitate, scoriae, ashes, cinders, recrement, slag, scum, froth, hogwash, ditchwater, dishwater, bilgewater, rinsings, cheeseparings, sweepings, offscourings, outscourings, off scum, caput mortuum, residuum, sprue, fecula, clinker, draff, scurf, scurfiness, exuviae, morphea, fur, furfur, dandruff, tartar, riffraff, vermin, louse, flea, bug, chinch, mud, mire, quagmire, alluvium, silt, sludge, slime, slush, slosh, sposh, spawn, offal, gurry, lientery, garbage, carrion, excreta, slough, peccant humor, pus, matter, suppuration, lienteria, faeces, feces, excrement, ordure, dung, crap, shit, sewage, sewerage, muck, coprolite, guano, manure, compost, dunghill, colluvies, mixen, midden, bog, laystall, sink, privy, jakes, toilet, john, head, cess, cesspool, sump, sough, cloaca, latrines, drain, sewer, common sewer, Cloacina, dust hole, sty, pigsty, lair, den, Augean stable, sink of corruption, slum, rookery, dirty, filthy, grimy, unclean, impure, soiled, not to be handled with kid gloves, dusty, snuffy, smutty, sooty, smoky, thick, turbid, dreggy, slimy, mussy, slovenly, untidy, messy, uncleanly, unkempt, sluttish, dowdy, draggle-tailed, uncombed, unscoured, unswept, unwiped, unwashed, unstrained, unpurified, squalid, lutose, slammocky, slummocky, sozzly, nasty, coarse, foul, offensive, abominable, beastly, reeky, reechy, fetid, decayed, moldy, musty, mildewed, rusty, moth-eaten, mucid, rancid, weak, bad, gone bad, etercoral, lentiginous, touched, fusty, effete, reasty, rotten, corrupt, tainted, high, flyblown, maggoty, putrid, putrefactive, putrescent, putrefied, saprogenic, saprogenous, purulent, carious, peccant, fecal, feculent, stercoraceous, excrementitious, scurfy, scurvy, impetiginous, gory, bloody, rotting, rotten as a pear, rotten as cheese, crapulous, gross, fimetarious, fimicolous, they that touch pitch will be defiled.

N  paternity, parentage, consanguinity, parent, father, sire, dad, papa, paterfamilias, abba, genitor, progenitor, procreator, ancestor, grandsire, grandfather, great- grandfather, fathership, fatherhood, mabap, house, stem, trunk, tree, stock, stirps, pedigree, lineage, line, family, tribe, sept, race, clan, genealogy, descent, extraction, birth, ancestry, forefathers, forbears, patriarchs, motherhood, maternity, mother, dam, mamma, materfamilias, grandmother, paternal, parental, maternal, family, ancestral, linear, patriarchal, avi numerantur avorum, happy he with such a mother, hombre bueno no le busquen abolengo, philosophia stemma non inspicit.

den mother, earth mother, foster mother, great mother, mother board, mother carey's chicken, mother carey's hen, mother cell, mother country, mother figure, mother fucker, mother goose, mother hen, mother hubbard, mother jones, mother lode, mother of god, mother of thyme, mother seton, mother superior, mother teresa, mother theresa, mother tongue, mother wit, queen mother, spore mother cell, surrogate mother

1.  day(n = noun.time) 24-hour interval, mean solar day, solar day, twenty-four hour period, twenty-four hours - time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis; "two days later they left"; "they put on two performances every day"; "there are 30,000 passengers per day"
is a kind of time unit, unit of time
has parts: day, daylight, daytime, high noon, midday, noon, noonday, noontide, twelve noon, dark, night, nighttime, 60 minutes, hour, hr
has particulars: tomorrow, today, yesterday, morrow, eve, date, day of the month, date
Derived form adjective daily₁

2.  day(n = noun.time) - some point or period in time; "it should arrive any day now"; "after that day she never trusted him again"; "those were the days"; "these days it is not unusual"
is a kind of time
has particulars: crack of doom, day of judgement, day of judgment, day of reckoning, doomsday, end of the world, eschaton, judgement day, judgment day, last day, last judgement, last judgment, off-day

3.  day(n = noun.time) - a day assigned to a particular purpose or observance; "Mother's Day"
is a kind of calendar day, civil day
has particulars: admission day, arbor day, cinco de mayo, commencement day, degree day, november 5, inauguration day, january 20, bissextile day, february 29, leap day, v-day, victory day, rag day, red-letter day, payday, election day, polling day, field day, field day, ides, market day, walpurgis night, december 31, new year's eve, january 19, lee's birthday, robert e lee's birthday, robert e lee day, tet, holiday, february 2, groundhog day, february 12, lincoln's birthday, february 14, saint valentine's day, st valentine's day, valentine's day, valentine day, february 22, washington's birthday, march 2, texas independence day, march 17, saint patrick's day, st patrick's day, all fools' day, april fools', april fools' day, april 14, pan american day, patriot's day, first of may, may 1, may day, mother's day, armed forces day, davis' birthday, jefferson davis' birthday, june 3, flag day, june 14, father's day, citizenship day, september 17, american indian day, october 24, united nations day, allhallows eve, hallowe'en, halloween, saint's day, june 23, midsummer eve, midsummer night, st john's eve, st john's night, school day, speech day, washday, washing day, wedding day, anniversary, day of remembrance

4.  day(n = noun.time) daylight, daytime - the time after sunrise and before sunset while it is light outside; "the dawn turned night into day"; "it is easier to make the repairs in the daytime"
is a kind of period, period of time, time period
is a part of 24-hour interval, day, mean solar day, solar day, twenty-four hour period, twenty-four hours
has parts: forenoon, morn, morning, morning time
has particulars: afternoon, midafternoon, eve, even, evening, eventide
Antonym: night

5.  day(n = noun.time) - the recurring hours when you are not sleeping (especially those when you are working); "my day began early this morning"; "it was a busy day on the stock exchange"; "she called it a day and went to bed"
is a kind of work time
has particulars: workday, working day

6.  day(n = noun.time) - an era of existence or influence; "in the day of the dinosaurs"; "in the days of the Roman Empire"; "in the days of sailing ships"; "he was a successful pianist in his day"
is a kind of epoch, era

7.  day(n = noun.time) - the period of time taken by a particular planet (e.g. Mars) to make a complete rotation on its axis; "how long is a day on Jupiter?"
is a kind of period, period of time, time period
has particulars: lunar day

8.  day(n = noun.time) sidereal day - the time for one complete rotation of the earth relative to a particular star, about 4 minutes shorter than a mean solar day;
is a kind of time unit, unit of time, sidereal time

9.  day(n = noun.state) - a period of opportunity; "he deserves his day in court"; "every dog has his day"
is a kind of chance, opportunity

10.  day(n = noun.person) clarence day, clarence shepard day jr. - United States writer best known for his autobiographical works (1874-1935);
is a kind of author, writer

day, n.
1 the time between sunrise and sunset.
2 a a period of 24 hours as a unit of time, esp. from midnight to midnight, corresponding to a complete revolution of the earth on its axis. b a corresponding period on other planets (Martian day).
3 daylight (clear as day).
4 the time in a day during which work is normally done (an eight-hour day).
5 a (also pl.) a period of the past or present (the modern day; the old days). b (prec. by the) the present time (the issues of the day).
6 the lifetime of a person or thing, esp. regarded as useful or productive (have had my day; in my day things were different).
7 a point of time (will do it one day).
8 a the date of a specific festival. b a day associated with a particular event or purpose (graduation day; payday; Christmas day).
9 a particular date; a date agreed on.
10 a day's endeavour, or the period of an endeavour, esp. as bringing success (win the day).

Idiom:
all in a (or the) day's work part of normal routine. at the end of the day in the final reckoning, when all is said and done. call it a day end a period of activity, esp. resting content that enough has been done. day after day without respite. day and night all the time. day-boy (or -girl) Brit. a boy or girl who goes daily from home to school, esp. a school that also has boarders. day by day gradually. day care the supervision of young children during the working day. day centre a place providing care for the elderly or handicapped during the day. day-dream n. a pleasant fantasy or reverie.
--v.intr. indulge in this. day-dreamer a person who indulges in day-dreams. day in, day out routinely, constantly. day labourer an unskilled labourer hired by the day. day lily any plant of the genus Hemerocallis, whose flowers last only a day. day nursery a nursery where children are looked after during the working day. day off a day's holiday from work. Day of Judgement = Judgement Day. day of reckoning see RECKONING. day of rest the Sabbath. day out a trip or excursion for a day. day-owl any owl hunting by day esp. the short-eared owl. day release Brit. a system of allowing employees days off work for education. day return a fare or ticket at a reduced rate for a journey out and back in one day. day-room a room, esp. a communal room in an institution, used during the day. day-school a school for pupils living at home. day-to-day mundane, routine. day-trip a trip or excursion completed in one day. day-tripper a person who goes on a day-trip. not one's day a day of successive misfortunes for a person. on one's day at one's peak of capability. one of these days before very long. one of those days a day when things go badly. some day at some point in the future. that will be the day colloq. that will never happen. this day and age the present time or period.

Derivative:
dayless adj.

Etymology:
OE d{aelig}g f. Gmc

N  period, age, era, second, minute, hour, day, week, month, quarter, year, decade, decenniumm lustrum, quinquennium, lifetime, generation, epoch, ghurry, lunation, moon, century, millennium, annus magnus, horary, hourly, annual.

N  the present, the present time, the present day, the present moment, the present juncture, the present occasion, the times, the existing time, the time being, today, these days, nowadays, our times, modern times, the twentieth century, nonce, crisis, epoch, day, hour, age, time of life, present, actual, instant, current, existing, extant, that is, present-day, up-to-date, up-to-the-moment, at this time, at this moment, at the present time, now, at present, at hand, at this time of day, today, nowadays, already, even now, but now, just now, on the present occasion, for the time being, for the nonce, pro hac vice, on the nail, on the spot, on the spur of the moment, until now, to this day, to the present day, the present hour alone is man's.

N  light, ray, beam, stream, gleam, streak, pencil, sunbeam, moonbeam, aurora, day, sunshine, light of day, light of heaven, moonlight, starlight, sunlight, daylight, broad daylight, noontide light, noontide, noonday, noonday sun, glow, glimmering, glint, play of light, flood of light, phosphorescence, lambent flame, flush, halo, glory, nimbus, aureola, spark, scintilla, facula, sparkling, emication, scintillation, flash, blaze, coruscation, fulguration, flame, lightning, levin, ignis fatuus, luster, sheen, shimmer, reflexion, reflection, gloss, tinsel, spangle, brightness, brilliancy, splendor, effulgence, refulgence, fulgor, fulgidity, dazzlement, resplendence, transplendency, luminousness, luminosity, lucidity, renitency, nitency, radiance, radiation, irradiation, illumination, actinic rays, actinism, Roentgen-ray, Xray, photography, heliography, photometer, optics, photology, photometry, dioptrics, catoptrics, chiaroscuro, clairobscur, clear obscure, breadth, light and shade, black and white, tonality, reflection, refraction, dispersion, refractivity, shining, luminous, luminiferous, lucid, lucent, luculent, lucific, luciferous, light, lightsome, bright, vivid, splendent, nitid, lustrous, shiny, beamy, scintillant, radiant, lambent, sheen, sheeny, glossy, burnished, glassy, sunny, orient, meridian, noonday, tide, cloudless, clear, unclouded, unobscured, gairish, garish, resplendent, transplendent, refulgent, effulgent, fulgid, fulgent, relucent, splendid, blazing, in a blaze, ablaze, rutilant, meteoric, phosphorescent, aglow, bright as silver, light as day, bright as day, light as noonday, bright as noonday, bright as the sun at noonday, actinic, photogenic, graphic, heliographic, heliophagous, a day for gods to stoop and men to soar, dark with excessive bright.

admission day, all day long, all fools' day, all saints' day, all souls' day, american indian day, annunciation day, april fools' day, arbor day, armed forces day, armistice day, ascension day, bastille day, bissextile day, boxing day, break of day, break of the day, by the day, calendar day, call it a day, candlemas day, childermas day, christian holy day, christmas day, citizenship day, civil day, clarence day, clarence shepard day jr., class day, columbus day, commencement day, commonwealth day, day after day, day bed, day blindness, day boarder, day book, day by day, day camp, day care, day care center, day game, day in and day out, day in day out, day jessamine, day laborer, day labourer, day lily, day nursery, day of atonement, day of judgement, day of judgment, day of reckoning, day of remembrance, day of rest, day of the month, day of the week, day off, day return, day school, day shift, day watch, decoration day, degree day, discovery day, dominion day, each day, easter day, election day, ember day, empire day, every day, fast day, father's day, feast day, fete day, field day, flag day, forever and a day, future day, gain the day, good day, groundhog day, guy fawkes day, high holy day, holy day, holy day of obligation, holy innocents' day, inauguration day, independence day, innocents' day, jewish holy day, judgement day, judgment day, labor day, lady day, lammas day, last day, leap day, lord's day, lunar day, major fast day, market day, martin luther king day, may day, mean solar day, memorial day, michaelmas day, midsummer day, midsummer's day, minor fast day, mother's day, naked as the day one was born, naked as the day you were born, name day, natal day, new year's day, night and day, order of the day, pan american day, pancake day, patriot's day, patriots' day, pioneers' day, polling day, poppy day, present day, presidents' day, quarter day, rag day, rainy day, red-letter day, remembrance day, rest day, robert e lee day, rogation day, saint patrick's day, saint valentine's day, saint's day, school day, seize the day, sidereal day, six day war, solar day, speech day, st john's day, st martin's day, st patrick's day, st valentine's day, tag day, term day, texas independence day, thanksgiving day, three kings' day, time of day, transfiguration day, twelfth day, united nations day, unlucky day, v-e day, v-j day, valentine day, valentine's day, veterans day, veterans' day, victoria day, victory day, washing day, wedding day, work day, working day