maternal
ma·tern·al/məˈtɝnəl/adjective, noun
maternal is spelled M-A-T-E-R-N-A-L: 8 letters and 3 syllables (ma·tern·al). It appears 5.9 times per million words in written English, the 10,028th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, maternal means “Of or pertaining to a mother; having the characteristics of a mother; motherly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in maternal?
| Letters | 8: M-A-T-E-R-N-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: ma·tern·al |
| In writing | 5.9 times per million words; the 10,028th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is maternal?
Maternal appears 5.9 times per million words in written English, the 10,028th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce maternal?
- UK /məˈtɜːnəl/
- US /məˈtɝnəl/
Maternal has 3 syllables, split ma·tern·al in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-maternal.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with maternal?
11 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as maternal from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹnəl/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of maternal
- more maternal comparative
- most maternal superlative
- maternall
- maternals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does maternal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or pertaining to a mother; having the characteristics of a mother; motherly.
His weakness seemed to bring out her maternal instincts.
- 2
Related through the mother, or her side of the family.
Toby is my maternal uncle.
- 3
Derived from the mother as opposed to the foetus during pregnancy.
noun
- 1
datedinformalrareA mother.
- 2
rareA person related through the mother, or her side of the family; a maternal relative.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Maternal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does maternal come from?
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English maternal, maternall, from Middle French maternel (“maternal”) (modern French maternel (“maternal; native”)), or from its etymon Late Latin māternālis (“maternal”), from Latin māternus (“maternal; related to the mother or her side of the family”) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship from nouns). Māternus is derived from māter (“mother”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr (“mother”)) + -rnus (suffix forming adjectives).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).