Mother
μήτηρStrong’s G3384mētēr
Appears in 78 verses of the New Testament
In short
Mētēr is the Greek word usually translated “mother” and “mothers”. It appears in 78 verses of the New Testament.
“The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.”
Meaning
Usually translated “mother” and “mothers”. Open the dictionary entry below for the full range of meaning, with the verses it cites.
How it's translated
- mother 77
- of mother 5
- mothers 2
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Matthew 24
- Luke 17
- Mark 16
- John 9
- Acts 4
- Galatians 2
11 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Matthew 1:18Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
- Matthew 2:11And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
- Matthew 2:13And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
- Matthew 2:14When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
- Matthew 2:20Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.
- Matthew 2:21And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
All 78 verses, by book
Greek dictionary
μήτηρ mētēr · mother
μήτηρ genitive, μητρός, ἡ, [in LXX chiefly for אֵם ;] mother: Mat.1:18 2:11, al.; figuratively, of one who takes the place of a mother, ἰδοὺ, ἡ μ. μου, Mat.12:49 (cf. Mat.12:50, Mrk.3:35, Jhn.19:27, Rom.16:13, 1Ti.5:2); of a city, ἥτις ἐσὶν μ. ἡμῶν, Gal.4:26; symbolically of Babylon, ἡ μ. τ. πορνῶν, Rev.17:5 (AS)
From STEPBible’s Greek lexicon (based on Abbott-Smith).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “mother” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
MOTHER, noun
[Latin mater, mother; matrix, the womb; materia, matter, stuff, materials of which any thing is made. We observe that in some other languages, as well as in English, the same word signifies a female parent, and the thick slime formed in vinegar; and in all the languages of Europe here cited, the orthography is nearly the same as that of mud and matter. The question then occurs whether the name of a female parent originated in a word expressing matter, mold; either the soil of the earth, as the producer, or the like substance, when shaped and fitted as a mold for castings; or whether the name is connected with the opinion that the earth is the mother of all productions; whence the word mother-earth. We are informed by a fragment of Sanchoniathon, that the ancient Phenicians considered mud to be the substance from which all things were formed. See Mud. The word matter is evidently from the Ar. madda, to secrete, eject or discharge a purulent substance; and I think cannot have any direct connection with mud. But in the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, the same word madre signified mother and a mold for castings; and the northern languages, particularly the German and Danish, seem to establish the fact that the proper sense of mother is matrix. Hence mother of pearl, the matrix of pearl. If this word had its origin in the name of the earth used for the forms of castings, it would not be a singular fact; for our word mold, in this sense, I suppose to be so named from mold, fine earth. The question remains sub judice.]
- A female parent; especially, one of the human race; a woman who has borne a child; correlative to son or daughter.
- That which has produced any thing.
- That which has preceded in time; the oldest or chief of any thing; as a mother-church.
- Hysterical passion. [Not used.]
All definitions and other forms of “mother”
- A familiar term of address or appellation of an old woman or matron.
- An appellation given to a woman who exercises care and tenderness towards another, or gives parental advice; as when one says, ' a woman has been a mother to me.'
- A thick slimy substance concreted in liquors, particularly in vinegar, very different from scum or common lees.
MOTHER, adjective
Native; natural; received by birth; as mother-wit.
- Native; vernacular; received from parents or ancestors; as mother-tongue.
MOTHER, verb intransitive
To concrete, as the thick matter of liquors.
MOTHER, verb transitive
To adopt as a son or daughter.
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Greek, not from any one translation.