Etymology

mama-san

Today it means: A mother, in Japan or East Asia. Full definition →

First used 1900sJapanese ママ
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The story

  1. Japanese · derived fromママ
  2. English todaymama-san

From Japanese ママ with the honorific title さん.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 1900s A mother, in Japan or East Asia.
  • from 1940s A woman in a position of authority, especially the madam of a geisha bar.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.