materteral
English
Etymology
From Latin mātertera (“maternal aunt”) + -al.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /məˈtɜːtəɹəl/
Adjective
materteral (comparative more materteral, superlative most materteral)
- Pertaining to, or in the manner of, an aunt.
- 1990, (US); Peter Van Inwagen, Material Beings, Cornell University Press, →ISBN, page 9:
- It may be that stipulations about parts and wholes are, in some way that undermines my materteral analogies, unlike stipulations about aunts and legacies.
- 2004, (UK); Saif Rahman, Archipelago, Twenty First Century Publishers Ltd, →ISBN, page 150:
- Only some insistent pleading (materteral rather than avuncular) had changed their mind.
- 2006, (US); R. D. Chrisman, Cathedral Ledge, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 123:
- It pleased her to see Aunt Maude waiting tables. Smiling to herself, Alice reflected that Maude was materteral ... like a kindly aunt.
- 2013 October 5, Bee Rowlatt, “Japan's new luxury sleeper train [print edition: Suite surrender on the rails]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Travel), archived from the original on 9 November 2013, retrieved 29 December 2013, page T9:
- A materteral lady told me that people come here from the city in search of peace.
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Synonyms
- materterine
Coordinate terms
- avuncular – uncle
- maternal – mother
- paternal – father
References
- The Oxford English Dictionary has materteral and materterine, both derived from the Latin mātertera ("maternal aunt"), and described as "humorously pedantic"; for "characteristic of an aunt". There are two quotations : With maternal and materteral anxiety (1823) and A kindly materterine message (1874).
Anagrams
- maltreater, tetrameral