Word
mamma
Phoneticsmam·ma
US/ˈmɑmə/
UK/mˈæmɐ/
Definitions
01mother
n. a child's word for their mother.
n. an informal or nursery term for a mother, often used by children.
“The little boy ran to his mamma when he fell down.”
“In many Mediterranean cultures, the mamma remains the central figure of the household well into her children's adulthood.”
Informal
Teaching tip
This spelling with a double 'm' is common in British English and several European languages, while 'mama' is more frequent in American English.
02mammary organ
n. the part of a female mammal's body that produces milk.
n. the milk-secreting organ of female mammals, including the mammary gland and nipple.
“The vet checked the dog's mamma to ensure the puppies were feeding well.”
“The surgical procedure involved the removal of a small cyst from the left mamma.”
Technical
Teaching tip
In everyday English, people use 'breast' for humans or 'udder' for farm animals; 'mamma' is strictly for medical or biological contexts.
Synonyms
03cloud formation
n. a cloud that looks like a round bump on the bottom of a larger cloud.
n. an accessory cloud formation appearing as a series of rounded protuberances on the underside of a cloud.
“We saw strange mamma clouds hanging under the dark storm front.”
“The presence of mamma on the underside of the anvil cloud often indicates severe atmospheric turbulence.”
Technical
Teaching tip
This is a highly specialized term in meteorology, more commonly referred to by the plural 'mammatus'.
Synonyms
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin mamma.
Alternative spelling of mama; see further etymology there.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
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Scan code
englishreference.com/q/mamma