mamma

See also: Mamma, mammà, and måmma

English

Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Latin mamma.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmæmə/
Rhymes: -æmə

Noun

mamma (plural mammae or mammas)

(anatomy, plural mammae) The milk-secreting organ of female humans and other mammals which includes the mammary gland and the nipple or teat; a breast; an udder.
(meteorology) An accessory cloud like a mammary in appearance, which can form on the underside of most cloud genera.

Derived terms

mammal
mammalgia
mammaplasty
mammary
mammate
mammatroph
mammectomy
mammiform
mammilla
mammiplasia
mammitis
mammogen
mammogenesis
mammogram
mammography
mammoplasia
mammose
mammosomatotrope
mammosomatotroph
mammotomy
mammotroph
mammotrophic
mammotropic
mammotropin

Translations

milk-secreting organ

Catalan: mama (ca) f, mamella (ca) f
Finnish: nisä (fi)
Galician: mama (gl) f
Irish: mama m, faireog mhamach f
Italian: mammella (it)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: گوان‎ (ku) (gwan) (animals only)
Macedonian: до́јка f (dójka)
Portuguese: mama (pt) f
Russian: моло́чная железа́ (ru) f (molóčnaja železá)
Spanish: mama (es) f

mum — see mum

mother — see mother

Etymology 2

Alternative spelling of mama; see further etymology there.

Noun

mamma (plural mammas)

Alternative spelling of mama: mother.
- 1856, Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary, Part III Chapter XI, translated by Eleanor Marx-Aveling
  The next day Charles had the child brought back. She asked for her mamma. They told her she was away; that she would bring her back some playthings.

Alemannic German

Noun

mamma f

(Gressoney) mom, mama

References

Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Dutch

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmɑ.maː/
Audio (file)
Hyphenation: mam‧ma
Rhymes: -ɑmaː

Noun

mamma f (plural mamma's, diminutive mammaatje n)

Alternative form of mama.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin mamma.

Noun

mamma f (plural mamma's or mammae)

mamma, breast
Synonym: borst

Usage notes

Most people will use this word as an alternative spelling of mama (“mother”).

Faroese

Alternative forms

momma

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmamːa/
Rhymes: -amːa

Noun

mamma f (genitive singular mammu, plural mammur)

mom, mum (colloquial word for mother)
Hvar er mamma mín?
Where is my mommy?
Synonym: móðir

Declension

Declension of mamma
f1	singular		plural
f1	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	mamma	mamman	mammur	mammurnar
accusative	mammu	mammuna	mammur	mammurnar
dative	mammu	mammuni	mammum	mammunum
genitive	mammu	mammunnar	mamma	mammanna

Finnish

Etymology

From Swedish mamma.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmɑmːɑ/, [ˈmɑmːɑ]
Rhymes: -ɑmːɑ
Syllabification^(key): mam‧ma

Noun

mamma

(dialectal) mama
Synonym: äiti
(colloquial) An elder, plump woman.
Synonym: tantta

Declension

Inflection of mamma (Kotus type 9/kala, no gradation)
nominative		mamma	mammat
genitive		mamman	mammojen
partitive		mammaa	mammoja
illative		mammaan	mammoihin
		singular	plural
nominative		mamma	mammat
accusative	nom.	mamma	mammat
accusative	gen.	mamman	mammat
genitive		mamman	mammojen mammain^rare
partitive		mammaa	mammoja
inessive		mammassa	mammoissa
elative		mammasta	mammoista
illative		mammaan	mammoihin
adessive		mammalla	mammoilla
ablative		mammalta	mammoilta
allative		mammalle	mammoille
essive		mammana	mammoina
translative		mammaksi	mammoiksi
instructive		—	mammoin
abessive		mammatta	mammoitta
comitative		—	mammoineen

Possessive forms of mamma (type kala)
possessor	singular	plural
1st person	mammani	mammamme
2nd person	mammasi	mammanne
3rd person	mammansa

Compounds

mammamekko
mammanpoika

Gilbertese

Noun

mamma (plural mamma)

mammary gland
mummy; mom; mum

Verb

mamma

to suck the breast

Icelandic

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmamːa/
Rhymes: -amːa

Noun

mamma f (genitive singular mömmu, nominative plural mömmur)

mom, mum (colloquial word for mother)
Hvar er mamma mín?
Where is my mommy?
Synonym: móðir

Declension

declension of mamma

	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
f-w1	singular		plural
nominative	mamma	mamman	mömmur	mömmurnar
accusative	mömmu	mömmuna	mömmur	mömmurnar
dative	mömmu	mömmunni	mömmum	mömmunum
genitive	mömmu	mömmunnar	mamma	mammanna

Interlingua

Noun

mamma (plural mammas)

mamma

Related terms

mammari

Italian

Etymology

From Latin mamma.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmam.ma/
Audio (file)
Rhymes: -amma
Hyphenation: màm‧ma

Noun

mamma f (plural mamme)

mom (US), mommy (US), mum (UK), mummy (UK)
mother
type of artichoke

Synonyms

madre
cimarolo

Derived terms

mamma mia

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μάμμη (mámmē).

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈmam.ma/, [ˈmämːä]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈmam.ma/, [ˈmämːä]

Noun

mamma f (genitive mammae); first declension

(anatomy) a breast
Puero isti date mammam.
Give that boy of yours your breast. (“suckle him”)
(anatomy) an udder; a pap
(anatomy, of animals) a teat, a dug
Mammam sugere.
To suck on a breast.
(family) mama (a childish name for a mother in the language of children)
Cum cibum ac potionem buas ac papas vocent, matrem mammam, patrem tatam.
Since children call food and drink bua and papa, mother mamma and father tata.
(transferred meaning) a protuberance on tree bark

Usage notes

This term was used especially of females, but also of males- although rarely:
Mammas homo solus e maribus habet.
Among male animals, man alone has breasts.

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	mamma	mammae
Genitive	mammae	mammārum
Dative	mammae	mammīs
Accusative	mammam	mammās
Ablative	mammā	mammīs
Vocative	mamma	mammae

Derived terms

mammālis
mammātus
mammeātus
mammicula
mammilla
mammō
mammōsus
mammula
mammam dare (with the dative; to give someone the breast, to suckle someone)

Descendants

Aromanian: mamã
→ English: mamma
French: maman
- Portuguese: mamã
Ido: mama
→ Irish: mama
Galician: mama, mámoa (from mammula)
Istriot: mama
Italian: mamma
Megleno-Romanian: mamă
Neapolitan: mamma
Portuguese: mama
Romanian: mamă
Romansch: mamma, mama, mumma, moma
Sardinian: mama, mamma, immamma
Spanish: mama

References

“mamma”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“mamma”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
mamma in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
mamma in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
“mamma”, in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly

Latvian

Noun

mamma f (4th declension)

mum
mother

Declension

Declension of mamma (4th declension)

	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	mamma	mammas
accusative (akuzatīvs)	mammu	mammas
genitive (ģenitīvs)	mammas	mammu
dative (datīvs)	mammai	mammām
instrumental (instrumentālis)	mammu	mammām
locative (lokatīvs)	mammā	mammās
vocative (vokatīvs)	mamma	mammas

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mama/, [ˈmɑ̂mːa]

Noun

mamma m (definite singular mammaen, indefinite plural mammaer, definite plural mammaene)

mother
Synonym: mor

References

“mamma” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mama/, [ˈmɑmːa]

Noun

mamma f (definite singular mammaa, indefinite plural mammaer, definite plural mammaene)

mother
Synonym: mor

References

“mamma” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Pali

Alternative forms

𑀫𑀫𑁆𑀫 (Brahmi script)
मम्म (Devanagari script)
মম্ম (Bengali script)
මම‍්ම (Sinhalese script)
မမ္မ or မမ်မ (Burmese script)
มมฺม or มัมมะ (Thai script)
ᨾᨾ᩠ᨾ (Tai Tham script)
ມມ຺ມ or ມັມມະ (Lao script)
មម្ម (Khmer script)

Noun

mamma n

a vital spot of the body
nerve center

Declension

Declension table of "mamma" (neuter)

Case \\ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	mammaṃ	mammāni
Accusative (second)	mammaṃ	mammāni
Instrumental (third)	mammena	mammehi or mammebhi
Dative (fourth)	mammassa or mammāya or mammatthaṃ	mammānaṃ
Ablative (fifth)	mammasmā or mammamhā or mammā	mammehi or mammebhi
Genitive (sixth)	mammassa	mammānaṃ
Locative (seventh)	mammasmiṃ or mammamhi or mamme	mammesu
Vocative (calling)	mamma	mammāni

Romansch

Alternative forms

mama, mumma, moma

Etymology

From Latin mamma.

Noun

mamma f (plural mammas)

mother

Coordinate terms

(with regards to gender): bab
(with regards to ancestry): figl, figlia

Swedish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [²mamːa]
audio (file)

Noun

mamma c

mom (US), mommy (US), mama (US), mum (UK), mummy (UK)
Synonyms: mor, moder, morsa (slang)
Antonym: pappa

Declension

Declension of mamma
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	mamma	mamman	mammor	mammorna
Genitive	mammas	mammans	mammors	mammornas

Derived terms

mammas död

mamma

English

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

Further reading

Alemannic German

Noun

References

Dutch

Pronunciation

Noun

Etymology 2

Noun

Usage notes

Faroese

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Finnish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Compounds

Further reading

Gilbertese

Noun

Verb

Icelandic

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Further reading

Interlingua

Noun

Related terms

Italian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Synonyms

Derived terms

Further reading

Latin

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Usage notes

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

References

Latvian

Noun

Declension

Further reading

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

Noun

See also

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

Noun

See also

References

Pali

Alternative forms

Noun

Declension

Romansch

Alternative forms

Etymology

Noun