motherhouse
noun
motherhouse is spelled M-O-T-H-E-R-H-O-U-S-E: 11 letters. It appears about once in every 25 million words in written English, the 152,206th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, motherhouse means “The monastery from which the other 'houses' of a religious order or congregation were (directly or indirectly) founded, often eponymous” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of motherhouse is motherhouses.
How many letters and syllables are in motherhouse?
| Letters | 11: M-O-T-H-E-R-H-O-U-S-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 25 million words; the 152,206th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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 motherhouse?
Motherhouse appears about once in every 25 million words in written English, the 152,206th 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).
What rhymes with motherhouse?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as motherhouse.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: housemother.
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 motherhouse
- motherhouses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does motherhouse mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The monastery from which the other 'houses' of a religious order or congregation were (directly or indirectly) founded, often eponymous.
The Cistercian order is named after its motherhouse Cîteaux in Burgundy, where abbot St. Bernard initiated in 1113 the reform of their branch of the Benedictine order, which has its motherhouse at Monte Cassino.
- 2
The convent which is the seat (and often the above original foundation) of the superior of an order or congregation, and/or on which lower ranking houses (such as priories under an abbot) depend.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Motherhouse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense religious monastery from which the other houses were founded:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | maison mère |
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 motherhouse come from?
From mother + house.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).