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Noun: maternalism
  1. Motherly care; behaviour characteristic of a mother; the practice of acting as a mother does toward her children
    "Her maternalism extended to all the children in the neighbourhood"
     
  2. The quality of having or showing the tenderness and warmth and affection of or befitting a mother
    "the girl's maternalism made her invaluable in caring for the children";
    - motherliness, maternal quality, maternity

See also: maternal

Type of: aid, attention, care, parental quality, tending

Encyclopedia: Maternalism