MAMMA (mammae)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: mammae   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does mamma mean? 

• MAMMA (noun)
  The noun MAMMA has 2 senses:

1. informal terms for a mother

2. milk-secreting organ of female mammals

  Familiarity information: MAMMA used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MAMMA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Informal terms for a mother

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

ma; mama; mamma; mammy; mom; momma; mommy; mum; mummy

Hypernyms ("mamma" is a kind of...):

female parent; mother (a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Milk-secreting organ of female mammals

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

mamma; mammary gland

Hypernyms ("mamma" is a kind of...):

duct gland; exocrine; exocrine gland (a gland that secretes externally through a duct)

Meronyms (parts of "mamma"):

mamilla; mammilla; nipple; pap; teat; tit (the small projection of a mammary gland)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mamma"):

dug (an udder or breast or teat)

bag; udder (mammary gland of bovids (cows and sheep and goats))

boob; bosom; breast; knocker; tit; titty (either of two soft fleshy milk-secreting glandular organs on the chest of a woman)

Holonyms ("mamma" is a part of...):

female mammal (animals that nourish their young with milk)

Derivation:

mammary (of or relating to the milk-giving gland of the female)

 Context examples 

I am come on to give you notice, that papa and mamma are out of spirits this evening, especially mamma; she is thinking so much of poor Richard!

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Mamma says I am never within.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

“But you forget, mamma,” said Elizabeth, “that we shall meet him at the assemblies, and that Mrs. Long promised to introduce him.”

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Mamma thought the dear too young to be taught to conquer his prejudices, but Papa believed that it never was too soon to learn obedience.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

He often comes to see us, and he and mamma get on very well together; they have so many things to talk about in common.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

“An’ with a gyme leg at that! Come on back, you pore little mamma’s darling. I won’t ’it yer; no, I won’t.”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

She played: her execution was brilliant; she sang: her voice was fine; she talked French apart to her mamma; and she talked it well, with fluency and with a good accent.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

But if mamma objects?

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

She said, her papa and mamma had promised that Grildrig should be hers; but now she found they meant to serve her as they did last year, when they pretended to give her a lamb, and yet, as soon as it was fat, sold it to a butcher.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

It is not that mamma cares about it the least in the world, but I know it is taken notice of by many persons.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)