maternalis

Forms

māternālis (neuter māternāle); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin māternus + -ālis, from māter (“mother”).^[1][2] The DMLBS classes it as medieval Latin.^[3]

Etymonline traces English maternal through Old French maternel to a Vulgar Latin form of this word,^[4] and Conte derives Italian madornale from it.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest dated use is in a Croatian charter of 1283, preserved in a copy of 1370, about efforts made for the release of a son “with a mother's careful concern” (sedula cura maternali).^[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant belonging to or coming from a mother, and also what was due to her.^[6] In England it is found from about 1380, also in a figurative sense, and maternalis lingua was the mother tongue.^[3] Polish sources use it for property inherited from the mother, for the maternal line of descent and for a mother church.^[7] Boccaccio writes of children who were suckled by Acca Larentia, the wife of Faustulus, and guided with a mother's skill, maternali solertia.^[8]

Timeline

• 1283 – A Croatian charter, in a copy of 1370, speaks of a mother's care for her son.^[6]
• c. 1380 – An Oxford formulary pairs a paternal and a maternal will.^[3][2]
• 1454 – English synodal statutes are to be explained to parishioners in the mother tongue, maternali lingua.^[3]
• 1455 – A Polish document traces a man's descent in the maternal line.^[7]
• late 15th century – English maternal appears.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or belonging to a mother, maternal.^[3][6][2]
2. Typical of a mother, motherly.^[3]
3. Inherited from the mother; related through the mother.^[7][6]
4. maternalis lingua, the mother tongue.^[3]
5. ecclesia maternalis, a mother church.^[7]

Noun

1. (neuter plural maternalia) An inheritance from the mother.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c d e f g Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
7. ^ a b c d e Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
8. ^ Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de