mama English · revision 6533

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=onomatopoeia|attested=1579}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmɑmə/, /məˈmɑː/; /ˈmæmə/, /ˈmʌ-/ ''(UK)''; /ˈmɑmə/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a variant spelling of [[mamma]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) imitative of a child's first syllables, ma, ma.^(NODE 1998)^(Barnhart 1988) Barnhart notes that the word is found in many European languages, such as Latin [[m|la|mamma|t=mother, breast]], Greek [[m|grc|μάμμη|tr=mámmē]], Welsh mam and Russian мама, and may go back to an Indo-European *mammā, so that it should not be described as borrowed.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Mother: 1579 as mamma, in Lyly's ''Euphues'',^(Barnhart 1988) and 1707 or 1727 as mama.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) NODE dates it to the mid-16th century.^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Barnhart notes that children's words like this are rarely found in early written records, so the late date is not surprising.^(Barnhart 1988) A sexually attractive woman is ''mama'' by 1925 in African-American English.^(Etymonline) ''Mama mia!'', from Italian, is by 1848,^(Etymonline) and ''mama-san'', a woman in charge of a geisha house or bar, by 1949.^(Etymonline) In Britain the word is old-fashioned, while American English uses it widely for mother.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1579 – mamma, in Lyly.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1707 – the spelling mama.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1848 – mama mia!^(Etymonline)

+ * 1925 – an attractive woman.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1949 – mama-san.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(informal)'' [[mother|alt=Mother]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(US slang)'' A woman, especially an attractive one.^(Etymonline)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ma]]

+ * [[mammy]]

+ * [[big mama]]

+ * [[mama's boy]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mom]]

+ * [[mommy]]

+ * [[mother]]

+ * [[mum]]

+ * [[mummy]]

+ * [[mamma]]

+ * [[mammal]]

+ * [[mammary]]

+ * [[papa]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}