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# maternal

«maternal» in Mova's school dictionary: **To do with a mother or being a mother; motherly** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

adjective (maternal); adverb maternally

### meaning for a pupil

1) To do with a mother or being a mother; motherly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maternal/#m1)

2) (family) Related through your mother («maternal grandmother» = your mum's mother). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maternal/#m2)

3) (health) To do with women having babies («maternal health»). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maternal/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In family trees and science lessons: maternal and paternal sides of the family; maternal care in animals (a hen sitting on eggs). In health: maternity leave, maternity ward. Phrases: «maternal instinct», «maternal grandfather».

### examples

- My maternal grandmother is my mum's mum. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maternal/#x1)
- Hens show strong maternal care. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maternal/#x2)
- She felt maternal towards the little kitten. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maternal/#x3)
- Elephants have strong maternal bonds. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maternal/#x4)
- The maternity ward is where babies are born. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maternal/#x5)
- My maternal uncle lives in Ireland. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maternal/#x6)

### note

Opposite for fathers: «paternal». Related: «maternity», «mother», Latin «mater». In family-tree puzzles, «maternal» tells you which side.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «maternal» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maternal/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.