# mama

> English word · Noun · IPA /məˈmɑː/ · frequency rank #4,774

## Definitions
1. Mother, female parent.

## Etymology
Originally from baby talk. Possibly influenced by Middle English mome (“mother, aunt”), from Old English *mōme, from Proto-West Germanic *mōmā, from Proto-Germanic *mōmǭ (“mother, aunt”), from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂-méh₂, reduplication of *méh₂- (“mother”), related to German Muhme (“aunt”), Latin mamma (“mother, nurse”), Irish mam (“mother”), Lithuanian mama, moma (“mother”).

## Easily confused with
- **MM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-mm)
- **may** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-may)
- **man** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-man)
- **mom** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-mom)
- **map** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-map)
- **max** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-max)
- **mum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-mum)
- **mar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-mar)
- **MIA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-mia)
- **mat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-mat)
- **mao** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-mao)
- **MMA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-mma)
- **mmm** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-mmm)
- **MLA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-mla)
- **MSM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-msm)
- **MGM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-mgm)
- **MLM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-mlm)
- **Mau** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-mau)
- **moa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-moa)
- **maw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mama-vs-maw)

## Common misspellings (3)
`maam`, `mmaa`, `mmama`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/mama