mother11ness

[English motherly: -ne .] The quality of being like a mother; kindne , love; tender consideration for the wants of those connected with one. motn-er-lỹ, a. & adv. [Eng. mother (1), s.; -ly.] A. As adjective: 1. Like a mother; becoming or befitting a mother. "All beneath us by the wings are cover'd Of motherly humanity." Words worth: Excursion, bk. v. 2. Of or pertaining to a mother; maternal; as, motherly authority. *B. As adv.: In the way that a mother would do. "Th' air doth not motherly sit on the earth, To hatch her seasons, and give all things birth." Donne: Anat. of World ; First Anniversary.