Mother country

Mother country
Mother Moth"er, a. Received by birth or from ancestors; native, natural; as, mother language; also acting the part, or having the place of a mother; producing others; originating. [1913 Webster]

It is the mother falsehood from which all idolatry is derived. --T. Arnold. [1913 Webster]

{Mother cell} (Biol.), a cell which, by endogenous divisions, gives rise to other cells (daughter cells); a parent cell.

{Mother church}, the original church; a church from which other churches have sprung; as, the mother church of a diocese.

{Mother country}, the country of one's parents or ancestors; the country from which the people of a colony derive their origin.

{Mother liquor} (Chem.), the impure or complex residual solution which remains after the salts readily or regularly crystallizing have been removed.

{Mother queen}, the mother of a reigning sovereign; a queen mother.

{Mother tongue}. (a) A language from which another language has had its origin. (b) The language of one's native land; native tongue.

{Mother water}. See {Mother liquor} (above).

{Mother wit}, natural or native wit or intelligence. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • mother country — mother countries also Mother Country 1) N COUNT: oft with poss Someone s mother country is the country in which they or their ancestors were born and to which they still feel emotionally linked, even if they live somewhere else. Dr Kengerli looks …   English dictionary

  • Mother Country — redirects here. For the concept of national identity, see Homeland. Mother Country (2002) is a novel by Libby Purves about a young American computer expert who goes in search of the relatives of his biological mother, a teenage heroin addict in… …   Wikipedia

  • mother country — mother .country n [C usually singular] 1.) someone s mother country is the country where they or their family were born and to which they feel a very strong emotional connection, even if they are no longer living there = ↑motherland 2.) a… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • mother country — mother ,country noun count the country where you were born or that your family originally came from …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • mother country — ► NOUN ▪ a country in relation to its colonies …   English terms dictionary

  • mother country — index home (place of origin) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • mother country — n. MOTHERLAND …   English World dictionary

  • mother country — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms mother country : singular mother country plural mother countries the country where you were born or that your family originally came from …   English dictionary

  • Mother Country — see mother country …   English dictionary

  • Mother Country (novel) — Mother Country (2002) is a novel by Libby Purves about a young American computer expert who goes in search of the relatives of his biological mother, a teenage heroin addict in 1970s London when she had him who was pronounced an unfit mother and… …   Wikipedia

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