Etymologically
Log in

maternalis

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 14:15. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [maː.tɛrˈnaː.lɪs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ma.terˈnaː.lis][1]

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