μήτηρ,
Doric dialect μάτηρ, ἡ: though
paroxytone in
nominative, it follows πατήρ in the accent of the
indirect cases,
genitive μητερος
contraction μητρός,
dative μητέρι, μητρί, both forms being found in [
Refs 8th c.BC+], but the longer forms rarely in Trag. exc. Lyric poetry, as ματέρος [
Refs 5th c.BC+]; μητέρος in iambics, [
Refs 5th c.BC+]:—
mother, [
Refs 8th c.BC+]; of animals,
dam,[
Refs 8th c.BC+]; of a
mother-bird, [
Refs 8th c.BC+]; of
queen bees, [
Refs 4th c.BC+]; ἀπὸ ματρὸς φίλας, ἐκ ματρός, from one's
mother's womb, [
Refs 5th c.BC+]: in
plural,
mother and grandmother, [
Refs 1st c.AD+]; as an address to elderly women, ὦ μῆτερ [
Refs 3rd c.BC+], =
Mater Patriae, [
Refs 2nd c.AD+]; μ. τῶν ἀηττήτων στρατοπέδων, =
Mater invictorum castrorum, of Julia Domna, [
Refs 3rd c.AD+]
2) of lands, μ. μήλων, θηρῶν,
mother of flocks, of game, [
Refs 8th c.BC+]; frequently of Earth, γῆ πάντων μ. [
Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἡ Μήτηρ, ={Δημήτηρ}, τῇ Μητρὶ καὶ τῇ Κούρῃ ὁρτὴν ἄγουσι [
Refs 5th c.BC+]; also of Rhea, [
Refs 5th c.BC+]; as title of Isis, [
Refs 3rd c.BC+]
3) frequently of one's native land, μᾶτερ ἐμά, Θήβα [
Refs 5th c.BC+]; and so, like{μητρόπολις}, [
Refs 5th c.BC+]
II)
poetry, the
origin or
source of events, μ. ἀέθλων, of Olympia, [
Refs 5th c.BC+]; of night, as
the mother of day, [
Refs 4th c.BC+]; the grape of wine, [
Refs 5th c.BC+]; Aphrodite of the Loves, [
Refs]; φάτις ὦ μᾶτερ αἰσχύνας ἐμᾶς, of a rumour, [
Refs 5th c.BC+]: also in Prose, γεωργίαν τῶν ἄλλων τεχνῶν μητέρα [
Refs 5th c.BC+]; πολιτειῶν μητέρες δύο (i.e. μοναρχία and δημοκρατία) [
Refs 5th c.BC+]. (Cf. Latin
mater, O[
Refs 5th c.BC+]
módor, etc.)