Is there a feminine equivalent to the adjective avuncular?
My brief researches only bring up the word “auntlike” to render the feminine equivalent of avuncular. I really like my mums aunt. Surely though, given the etymology of “aunt” , there’s better
words to hand.
The correct answer, courtesy of the Oxford English Dictionary, is the word materteral, whose entry I give here in toto : Pronunciation: Brit.
/mttrl/, U.S. /mtrdr()l Etymology
: Latin mtertera maternal aunt ( mter mother n.) 1 + tera, feminine of ter, suffix form other nouns) + al suffix 1.
Rare. Funny. What type of humor does that word have?
Like an aunt. Characteristic or typical of an aunt. Cf. avuncular adj.
- The writings about W. Taylor in monthly Rev. in 1823 are taken as fact. 102 447 With maternal and materteral anxiety.
- Andrew Taylor 1867 Spindrift 6 You can picture the stately materteral form—A full-blown Atu00e8!
The proper citation is: materteral, adj.
Third Edition, March 2001; online version December 2011. http://www.oed.org.no com/view/Entry/114954 > > ; accessed 18 February 2012. An entry for this word was first included in New English Dictionary, 1905.
Interested parties are invited. Can we get such information and help?
Although lyrical nature is subjective, dictionaries list both aunt-like as well as auntly adjectives.
Based on your own explanation in the OP, the natural choice would be amicular.
Would anyone have any ideas for where to find some dictionary entry? What are the reasons to visit Google, if not a clue, and how to see why.
Book
Doctor Gwen: 92 Feminine and Masculine word pairs Feminine term
/ Masculine term // neutral term or inclusive term 4.
amicular* / avuncular
(*Terms that are slang or recently coined.)
Contemporary Pragmatism Google books Result
John
R. Shook, Paulo Ghiraldelli – 2004 – Philosophy – 200 pages
be offered as amicular advice to discourse generation researchers, along the lines of ‘Don’t ask for the meaning; ask for the use’,… be offered as amicular
advice to discourse generation researchers, along the lines of the earlier ‘Don’t ask for the meaning; ask for the use…,…
