# maternal

> English word · Adjective · IPA /məˈtɜːnəl/ · frequency rank #10,079

## Definitions
1. Of or pertaining to a mother; having the characteristics of a mother; motherly.
2. Related through the mother, or her side of the family.
3. Derived from the mother as opposed to the foetus during pregnancy.

## Etymology
PIE word
 *méh₂tēr
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). The English word is cognate with Italian maternale, materno, Portuguese maternal, materno, Spanish maternal, materno.
The noun is derived from the adjective.

## Easily confused with
- **materia** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/materia-vs-maternal)
- **material** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/material-vs-maternal)
- **materiel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/materiel-vs-maternal)
- **materials** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/materials-vs-maternal)

## Common misspellings (12)
`amternal`, `maetrnal`, `matenral`, `materanl`, `maternall`, `maternla`, `maternnal`, `materrnal`, `matrenal`, `matternal`, `mmaternal`, `mtaernal`

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