Noun: maternity mu'tur-ni-tee
- Technical term for pregnancy
"The hospital's maternity ward was fully staffed";
- pregnancy, gestation, gravidation [archaic], gravidity [technical]
- The kinship relation between an offspring and the mother
"Her transition to maternity was both challenging and rewarding";
- motherhood
- The quality of having or showing the tenderness and warmth and affection of or befitting a mother
"Her maternity showed in how she cared for all the neighbourhood children";
- motherliness, maternalism, maternal quality
Derived forms: maternities
See also: maternal
Type of: family relationship, kinship, parental quality, physical condition, physiological condition, physiological state, relationship
Encyclopedia: Maternity