mama

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈmɑmə/, /məˈmɑː/; /ˈmæmə/, /ˈmʌ-/ (UK); /ˈmɑmə/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is a variant spelling of mamma,^[2][3] imitative of a child's first syllables, ma, ma.^[4][5] Barnhart notes that the word is found in many European languages, such as Latin mamma (“mother, breast”), Greek μάμμη (mámmē), Welsh mam and Russian мама, and may go back to an Indo-European *mammā, so that it should not be described as borrowed.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Mother: 1579 as mamma, in Lyly's Euphues,^[5] and 1707 or 1727 as mama.^[2][5] NODE dates it to the mid-16th century.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Barnhart notes that children's words like this are rarely found in early written records, so the late date is not surprising.^[5] A sexually attractive woman is mama by 1925 in African-American English.^[2] Mama mia!, from Italian, is by 1848,^[2] and mama-san, a woman in charge of a geisha house or bar, by 1949.^[2] In Britain the word is old-fashioned, while American English uses it widely for mother.^[6]

Timeline

• 1579 – mamma, in Lyly.^[5]
• 1707 – the spelling mama.^[2]
• 1848 – mama mia!^[2]
• 1925 – an attractive woman.^[2]
• 1949 – mama-san.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (informal) Mother.
2. (US slang) A woman, especially an attractive one.

Word family

• ma
• mammy
• big mama
• mama's boy

Related words

• mom
• mommy
• mother
• mum
• mummy
• mamma
• mammal
• mammary
• papa

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins