ma
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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
Modern meaning
Noun
- (informal) Mother.
- (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
- ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ 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
- ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press