ma

Pronunciation

• IPA: /mɑː/^[1]

Etymology

It is a childish and colloquial clipping of mamma, mama.^[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

“Mother”: 1823 in Etymonline and the OED,^[2][3] 1829 in Merriam-Webster.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It is also applied colloquially to a middle-aged or elderly woman, especially one in authority,^[2][3] and used in addressing such a woman, or before a married woman's surname, as in Ma Purkiss.^[7] The OED notes that it is now often ridiculed as vulgar.^[3] The ma-and-pa shop, a small family business, is chiefly American, recorded from 1973 in the OED's supplement.^[3] In Australia the Ma State is a popular name for New South Wales, from 1934.^[3]

Timeline

• 1823 – mother.^[2][3]
• 1934 – New South Wales, the Ma State.^[3]
• 1973 – ma-and-pa.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (informal) Mother.
2. (informal) A form of address or title for an older woman.

Related words

• mama
• mamma
• mom
• mum
• pa

Usage notes

The abbreviation MA stands for Master of Arts and for Massachusetts.^[7][6]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press