madre Italian · revision 37642

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1224|origins=ine-pro *méh₂tēr}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈma.dre/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''madre''' ''f'' (plural madri)^(Wiktionary)

+ The old form is ''matre''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) Old and dialect forms also include ''mader'', ''mare'' and ''mate''.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|māter|t=mother]] (accusative ⟨mātrem⟩).^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The ⟨d⟩ is unexpected, since Tuscan normally keeps Latin ⟨t⟩ between vowels and before ⟨r⟩, and is usually explained by northern Italian influence.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Devoto 1968|266) DELI finds this hard to accept for a word of the basic family vocabulary,^(DELI 1999) while DEI calls the word northern in origin, replaced in Tuscany by [[mamma]].^(DEI|2307) The older form [[matre]] shows the Tuscan sound.^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ The same word is [[fr|mère]], [[oc|maire]], [[ca|mare]] and [[es|madre]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) Only the familiar word survives in [[sc|mama]] and [[ro|mamă]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ Latin ⟨māter⟩ continues [[itc-pro|*mātēr]] and [[ine-pro|*méh₂tēr]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) The same word is [[grc|μήτηρ|tr=mḗtēr]], [[cu|мати|tr=mati]], [[goh|muoter]] and [[ga|máthair]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(de Vaan 2008) De Vaan and Nocentini think it may be a formation with the kinship suffix ⟨*-ter-⟩ from the nursery word ⟨*mā-⟩ “mum”.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Nocentini and GRADIT date the word to about 1224.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) DELI's first records are before 1250: ''mare'' in Cielo d'Alcamo, who has a girl send her suitor ''a mia mare e a mon peri'' “to my mother and my father”, and ''madre'' in an anonymous poem.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative sense “origin, cause” appears about 1243 in Guido Faba (as ''matre''), and Dante uses the word for the female of animals.^(DELI 1999) It became a title for professed nuns before 1342, and in the 16th century a name for the dregs of wine and for tools that receive another part.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|2307) A ''madre'' was also the counterfoil of a receipt book, kept as proof of the part torn off (1773, Cesare Beccaria).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The anatomical ''dura madre'' and ''pia madre'', the outer and inner meninges, are calques through Medieval Latin of an Arabic term “mother of the brain”, which Stephen of Antioch translated as ''mater cerebri'' in 1127.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) ''Madreperla'' was popularly taken as the “mother of pearls”, and Ferrante Imperato coined ''madrepora'' on its model in 1599.^(DELI 1999) Since the Gulf War of 1991 journalists have imitated ''la madre di tutte le battaglie'' “the mother of all battles”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ In the sense of a woman who bore a child, ''madre'' carries respect and distance, while ''mamma'' is the affectionate word.^(GDLI)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1224 – ''Madre'' is first recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * c. 1243 – Guido Faba uses ''matre'' for an origin or cause.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1250 – Cielo d'Alcamo writes ''mare''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses it as a title of nuns.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1599 – Ferrante Imperato names the ''madrepora''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1773 – Cesare Beccaria uses it for the counterfoil of a receipt book.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1810 – ''Madrelingua'' “mother tongue” is first recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1991 – ''Madre di tutte le battaglie'' spreads from the Gulf War.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|mother]], a woman who has given birth to a child, in relation to the child: ''Sua madre fa la maestra.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The female parent of an animal.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A woman who cares for someone like a mother: ''essere una seconda madre per qualcuno''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(often capitalized)'' The Virgin [[m|en|Mary]], as in ''Madre di Dio''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A title of professed nuns: ''madre superiora''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(figurative)'' The origin or cause of something: ''L'ignoranza è madre di molti mali.''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(DELI 1999)

+ # ''(bureaucracy)'' The counterfoil of a receipt book.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+ # ''Madre dell'aceto'', the [[m|en|mother of vinegar]].^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # That is a mother: ''ragazza madre'' “unmarried mother”, ''regina madre'' “queen mother”.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Being the origin or principal one: ''casa madre'' “headquarters”, ''lingua madre''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[madrina]]

+ * [[madrelingua]]

+ * [[madrepatria]]

+ * [[madreperla]]

+ * [[madrepora]]

+ * [[madreselva]]

+ * [[madrevite]]

+ * [[madreggiare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[matre]]

+ * [[matrigna]]

+ * [[genitore]]

+ * [[mamma]]

+ * [[padre]]

+ * [[materno]]

+ * [[la|mater]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Madre mia!'' is an exclamation of surprise or dismay.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) ''Dura madre'' and ''pia madre'' are also written as one word.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}