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Mother vs Brother - What's the difference?

mother | brother |

In transitive terms the difference between mother and brother

is that mother is to treat as a mother would be expected to treat her child; to nurture while brother is to treat as a brother.

As a proper noun Mother

is one's mother.

As an interjection brother is

Expressing exasperation.

mother

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) ).

Noun

(en noun)
  • A (human) female who (a) s a child (b) gives birth to a baby (c) donates a fertilized egg or (d) donates a body cell which has resulted in a clone. Sometimes used in reference to a pregnant female, possibly as a shortened form of mother-to-be.
  • I am visiting my mother'''(a) today.'' — ''My sister-in-law has just become a '''mother'''.(b)'' — ''Nutrients and oxygen obtained by the '''mother (c) are conveyed to the fetus.
  • * 1988 , Robert Ferro, Second Son ,
  • He had something of his mother in him, but this was because he realized that in the end only her love was unconditional, and in gratitude he had emulated her.
  • * 1991 , (Susan Faludi), The Undeclared War Against American Women ,
  • The antiabortion iconography in the last decade featured the fetus but never the mother .
  • A female parent of an animal.
  • The lioness was a mother of four cubs.
  • (figuratively) A female ancestor.
  • * 1525 , ,
  • And Ada[Adam] called his wyfe Heua[Eve] because she was the mother of all that lyveth
  • * 1844 , , Fragment on the Church , Volume 1, page 17,
  • But one in the place of God and not God, is as it were a falsehood; it is the mother falsehood from which all idolatry is derived.
  • (figuratively) A source or origin.
  • The Mediterranean was mother to many cultures and languages.
  • * 1606', '', Act 4, Scene 3, '''1866 , George Steevens (editor), ''The Complete Works of William Shakespeare , page 278,
  • Alas, poor country: / Almost afraid to know itself! It cannot / Be call'd our mother , but our grave:
  • * 1844 , , Fragment on the Church , Volume 1, page 17,
  • But one in the place of God and not God, is as it were a falsehood; it is the mother falsehood from which all idolatry is derived.
  • (when followed by a surname) A title of respect for one's mother-in-law.
  • Mother Smith, meet my cousin, Doug Jones.
  • (figuratively) Any elderly woman, especially within a particular community.
  • (figuratively) Any person or entity which performs mothering.
  • * The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel. –Judges 5:7, KJV.
  • * Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. –Galatians 4:26, KJV.
  • A film or membrane which is developed on the surface of fermented alcoholic liquids, such as vinegar, wine, etc., and acts as a means of conveying the oxygen of the air to the alcohol and other combustible principles of the liquid, thus leading to their oxidation.
  • The principal piece of an astrolabe, into which the others are fixed.
  • The female superior or head of a religious house; an abbess, etc.
  • (obsolete) Hysterical passion; hysteria.
  • (Shakespeare)
    Synonyms
    * See also * metro-
    Antonyms
    * (with regards to gender) father * (with regards to ancestry) daughter, son, child
    Hypernyms
    * (a female parent) parent
    Coordinate terms
    * (a female parent) father
    Derived terms
    * antimother * be mother * biological mother * birth mother * foster mother * grandmother, great-grandmother * Mother City * Mother Earth * motherfucker * Mothering Sunday * mother-in-law * motherland * motherload * mother lode * Mother's Day * mother-to-be * mother wit * motherwort * refrigerator mother * stepmother * surrogate mother

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To treat as a mother would be expected to treat her child; to nurture.
  • *
  • She had seen fewer years than any of us, but she was of such superb Evehood and simplicity that she mothered us from the beginning.

    References

    * American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company 2003.

    Etymology 2

    Calque of Arabic .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Something that is the greatest or most significant of its kind.
  • "The great duel, the mother of all battles has begun." — (Saddam Hussein)

    Etymology 3

    Shortened from (motherfucker)

    Alternative forms

    * mutha

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (euphemistic, coarse, slang) Motherfucker.
  • (euphemistic, colloquial) A striking example.
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • Synonyms
    * MF, mofo, motherfucker, mutha

    Statistics

    *

    Etymology 4

    Coined from .

    Alternative forms

    * moth-er

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (nonstandard) A cat that catches moths.
  • Usage notes
    Because of the spelling (mother), the alternative hyphenated spelling (moth-er) may be used to avoid ambiguity. 100 English basic words 1000 English basic words

    brother

    English

    Alternative forms

    * brotha (Jamaican English)

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • Son of the same parents as another person.
  • * , chapter=10
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers .}}
  • A male having at least one parent in common with another (see half-brother, stepbrother).
  • A male fellow member of a religious community, church, trades union etc.
  • * The Bible, Deuteronomy 23:19 (NKJV)
  • You shall not charge interest to your brother —interest on money or'' food ''or anything that is lent out at interest.
  • (African American Vernacular English) A black male.
  • * 2013 , Gwyneth Bolton, Ready for Love
  • But damn if they knew when to just leave a brother alone and let him sulk in silence.
  • Someone who is a peer, whether male or female.
  • *
  • And, above all, no animal must ever tyrannise over his own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers .

    Usage notes

    The plural “brethren” is not used for biological brothers in contemporary English (although it was in older usage). It is, however, still very common when meaning “members of a religious order”. It is also sometimes used in other figurative senses, e.g. “adherents of the same religion”, “countrymen”, and the like.

    Coordinate terms

    * (with regards to gender) sister

    Hypernyms

    * (son of common parents) sibling

    Derived terms

    (Terms derived from the noun "brother") * big brother/Big Brother * blood brother * bro * brother german * brother-in-arms * brother-in-law * Brother Jonathan * brothered * brotherhood * brotherlike * brotherly * bruv * bruvver * Christian Brother * co-brother * cousin brother/cousin-brother * everyone and their brother/everybody and their brother * foster brother/foster-brother * half brother/half-brother * lay brother * little brother * milk brother * soul brother * stepbrother/step-brother * uterine brother * Xaverian Brother

    Descendants

    * Bahamian Creole: (l) * Belize Kriol English: (l) * Bislama: (l) * Cameroon Pidgin: * Gullah: (l) * Islander Creole English: (l) * Krio: (l) * Nicaraguan Creole: (l) * Nigerian Pidgin: (l) * Pichinglis: * Pijin: (l) * Portuguese: * Saramaccan: * Tok Pisin: (l), (l)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To treat as a brother.
  • * 1819 , Walter Scott, Ivanhoe
  • * Seest thou not we are overreached, and that our proposed mode of communicating with our friends without has been disconcerted by this same motley gentleman thou art so fond to brother ?
  • Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • We're being forced to work overtime? Oh, brother !