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maternity
WORDNET DICTIONARY
Noun maternity has 3 senses
- maternity(n = noun.state) gestation, pregnancy - the state of being pregnant; the period from conception to birth when a woman carries a developing fetus in her uterus; Array has parts: cleavage, segmentation, quickening, childbed, confinement, labor, labour, lying-in, parturiency, travail, morning sickness
- maternity(n = noun.linkdef) motherhood - the kinship relation between an offspring and the mother; Array is a kind of family relationship, kinship, relationship
- maternity(n = noun.attribute) maternal quality, maternalism, motherliness - the quality of having or showing the tenderness and warmth and affection of or befitting a mother; "the girl's motherliness made her invaluable in caring for the children" is a kind of parental quality
is a kind of physical condition, physiological condition, physiological state
has particulars: trouble, gravidation, gravidity, gravidness, gravida, para, parity, eccyesis, ectopic gestation, ectopic pregnancy, extrauterine gestation, extrauterine pregnancy, metacyesis, entopic pregnancy, placenta previa
Derived form adjective maternal1
CIDE DICTIONARY
maternity, n. [F. maternité, LL. maternitas.].
- The state of being a mother; motherhood. [1913 Webster]
- The character of a mother; maternal quality; motherliness. [1913 Webster]
- The maternity ward; the maternity department of a hospital. [PJC]
maternity, a.
- Of or pertaining to childbirth or the period during which a woman is pregnant; as, maternity care; a maternity hospital. [PJC]
- For use during pregnancy; as, a maternity outfit. [PJC]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
maternity, n.
1 motherhood.
2 motherliness.
3 (attrib.) a for women during and just after childbirth (maternity hospital; maternity leave). b suitable for a pregnant woman (maternity dress; maternity wear).
1 motherhood.
2 motherliness.
3 (attrib.) a for women during and just after childbirth (maternity hospital; maternity leave). b suitable for a pregnant woman (maternity dress; maternity wear).
Etymology
F maternit{eacute} f. med.L maternitas -tatis f. L maternus f. mater mother
THESAURUS
maternity
affiliation, agnation, alliance, ancestry, blood, blood relationship, brotherhood, brothership, cognation, common ancestry, common descent, connection, consanguinity, cousinhood, cousinship, enation, fatherhood, filiation, fraternity, kindred, kinship, maternalness, matrilineage, matriliny, matrisib, matrocliny, motherhood, motherliness, mothership, parenthood, paternity, patrilineage, patriliny, patrisib, patrocliny, pregnancy, propinquity, relation, relationship, sibship, sisterhood, sistership, ties of bloodROGET THESAURUS
maternity
Paternity
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.
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