máthair
/ˈmˠɑːhəɾʲ/feminine
The Irish word for mother is máthair.
máthair is a feminine noun used to refer to a female human who gives birth to or parents a child.
Meaning: female (human) who gives birth to or parents a child (noun)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
máthair is the nominative singular form, which is used when the word is the subject of a sentence.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈmˠɑːhəɾʲ/
Did you know?
- The word máthair is the root of máthair-scoil, the term used for a 'mother school' or a primary school that feeds into a larger secondary institution.
- The word máthair is a direct descendant of the Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr, making it a cognate of the Latin 'mater' and Greek 'mētēr'.
- In some traditional Irish idioms, a 'mother's heart' croí mháthar is used as a synonym for unconditional patience and forgiveness.
Examples in context
- Tá Dia láidir agus máthair mhaith aige.God is strong and He has a good mother.This sentence shows how to use máthair when describing a person who has a mother.
- Is máthair maith thú.You are a good mother.This sentence uses máthair to describe someone directly.Tatoeba #5155038 by kemushi69, translation #4438756 by miren
Sources
- Wiktionary, “mother” translations and entries máthair, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries máthair, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0, Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
