English

Adjective

materteral ‎(comparative more materteral, superlative most materteral)

1. Pertaining to, or in the manner of, an aunt.
   • 1990 (US), Peter Van Inwagen, Material Beings, Cornell University Press, ISBN 0801483069, p. 9,

     It may be that stipulations about parts and wholes are, in some way that undermines my materteral analogies, unlike stipulations about aunts and legacies.

   • 2004 (UK), Saif Rahman, Archipelago, Twenty First Century Publishers Ltd, ISBN 1904433227, p. 150,

     Only some insistent pleading (materteral rather than avuncular) had changed their mind.

   • 2006 (US), R. D. Chrisman, Cathedral Ledge, AuthorHouse, ISBN 1425907865, p. 123

     It pleased her to see Aunt Maude waiting tables. Smiling to herself, Alice reflected that Maude was materteral ... like a kindly aunt.

   • 2013 October 5, Bee Rowlatt, “Japan's new luxury sleeper train [print edition: Suite surrender on the rails]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Travel), archived from the original on 9 November 2013, page T9:

     A materteral lady told me that people come here from the city in search of peace.

Coordinate terms

• avuncular – uncle
• maternal – mother
• paternal – father

References

• The Oxford English Dictionary has materteral and materterine, both derived from the Latin matertera (maternal aunt), and described as "humorously pedantic"; for "characteristic of an aunt". There are two quotations : With maternal and materteral anxiety (1823) and A kindly materterine message (1874).

• http://www.yourdictionary.com/wotd/wotd.pl?date=2005-08-15

• http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19971119

• http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2006/08/female-version-of-avuncular.html

• http://blobolobolob.blogspot.com/2006/11/materteral-mishaps-and-laboured.html