MOTHER (2)

mother (2). Mother, v.i. to mold; a. native, original

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Moth″er, a. Received by birth or from ancestors; native, natural; as, mother language; also acting the part, or having the place of a mother; producing others; originating. It is the mother falsehood from which all idolatry is derived. T. Arnold. Mother cell (Biol.), a cell which, by endogenous divisions, gives rise to other cells (daughter cells); a parent cell. — Mother church, the original church; a church from which other churches have sprung; as, the mother church of a diocese. — Mother country, the country of one's parents or ancestors; the country from which the people of a colony derive their origin. — Mother liquor (Chem.), the impure or complex residual solution which remains after the salts readily or regularly crystallizing have been removed. — Mother queen, the mother of a reigning sovereign; a queen mother. — Mother tongue. (a) A language from which another language has had its origin. (b) The language of one's native land; native tongue. — Mother water. See Mother liquor (above). — Mother wit, natural or native wit or intelligence.