Mother

Mother

A mother (or mum/mom) is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that united with a sperm which grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally acceptable definition for the term. The male equivalent is a father.

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Famous quotes containing the word mother:

    My mother had a maid called Barbary;
    She was in love, and he she loved proved mad,
    And did forsake her. She had a song of “Willow,”
    An old thing ‘twas, but it expressed her fortune,
    And she died singing it. That song tonight
    Will not go from my mind.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    We are not very much to blame for our bad marriages. We live amid hallucinations; and this especial trap is laid to trip our feet with, and all are tripped up first and last. But the mighty Mother who had been so sly with us, as if she felt that she owed us some indemnity, insinuates into the Pandora-box of marriage some deep and serious benefits, and some great joys.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    Having a child is the great divide between one’s own childhood and adulthood. All at once someone is totally dependent upon you. You are no longer the child of your mother but the mother of your child. Instead of being taken care of, you are responsible for taking care of someone else.
    Elaine Heffner (20th century)