mother
■ Cases: nom. sg mātā Snp.296; Dhp.43; Ja.iv.463; Ja.v.83; Ja.vi.117; Cnd.504 (def. as janikā); gen. mātu Thag.473; Vin.i.17; Ja.i.52 mātuyā Ja.i.53; Mhvs.10, Mhvs.80; Pv-a.31; and mātāya Ja.i.62; dat. mātu Mhvs.9, Mhvs.19; acc. mātaraṃ Snp.60, Snp.124; Dhp.294; instr. mātarā Thig.212; loc. mātari Dhp.284-pl. does not occur. In combination with pitā father, mātā always precedes the former, thus mātā-pitaro (pl. “mother & father” (see below)
■ mātito (abl
■ adv. from the mother’s side (cp. pitito) DN.i.113; AN.iii.151; Pv-a.29
■ On mātā in simile see J.P.T.S. 1907, 122 cp. Vism.321 (simile of a mother’s solicitude for her children). Similarly the pop. etym. of mātā is given with “mamāyatī ti mātā” at Vb-a.107
■ The 4 bases of m. in compound are: mātā˚, māti˚, mātu˚, matti˚.

1. mātā˚- pitaro mother & father DN.iii.66 DN.iii.188 sq.; Snp.404; Mil.12. See also pitā
   ■ pitika having mother & father Dhp-a.ii.2.
2. -pitiṭṭhāna place of m. & f. Dhp-a.ii.95.
3. -pettika having m. & f., of m. f. Cnd.385 (nāma-gotta).
4. -petti-bhāra supporting one’s m. & f. SN.i.228; Ja.i.202; Ja.vi.498.
5. -maha maternal grandfather Ja.iv.146; Dhp-a.i.346.
6. māti˚-devatā protector or guardian of one’s mother Ja.iii.422 (gloss mātu-devatā viya).
7. -pakkha the mother’s side Dhp-a.i.4 (+ pitipakkha).
8. -posaka supporting one’s m Ja.iii.422 (variant reading mātu˚).
9. mātu˚-upaṭṭhāna (spelt mātupaṭṭh˚) reverence towards one’s m. Dhp-a.iv.14
10. -kucchi m’s womb DN.ii.12; Vism.560 (˚gata); Vb-a.96; Dhp-a.i.127.
11. -gāma “genex feminarum,” womanfolk women (collectively cp. Ger, frauen-zimmer) AN.ii.126; Vin.iv.175; MN.i.448, MN.i.462; MN.iii.126; SN.iv.239 sq. Ja.i.201; Ja.iii.90, Ja.iii.530. (pl. ˚gāmā p. Ja.iii.531); Pp.68; Snp-a.355; Pv-a.271; Vv-a.77.
12. -ghāta & (usually);
13. -ka a matricide (+ pitu- ghātaka; see abhiṭhāna) Vin.i.168, Vin.i.320; Mil.310; Tikp.167 sq.; Vb-a.425.
14. -ghātikamma matricide Tikp.281
15. -bhūta having been his mother Pv-a.78
16. -mattin (see matta¹ 4) whatever is a mother SN.iv.110 (˚īsu mātucittaṃ upaṭṭhapeti foster the thought of mother towards whatever is a mother, where in sequence with bhaginī-mattin & dhītumattin).;
17. -hadaya a mother’s heart Pv-a.63.
18. matti˚: see matti-sambhava. -Matika

Vedic mātā, stem mātar˚, Av. mātar-, Gr. μήτηρ (Doric μάτηρ) Lat. māter, Oir. māthir, Ohg muoter, Ags. modor = mother; Cp. further Gr. μήτρα uterus, Lat. mātrix id., Sk. mātṛkā mother, grandmother Ger. mieder corset. From Idg. *ma, onomat part., cp. “mamma”