Etymology

motherly

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Today it means: Befitting a mother; warm, caring, nurturing, protective, loving. Full definition →

Middle English moderly ← Old English mōdorlīċ ← Proto-Germanic *mōdērlīkaz
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*mōdērlīkaz“motherly, maternal”
  2. Old English · inherited frommōdorlīċ“motherly, maternal”
  3. Middle English · inherited frommoderly
  4. English todaymotherly

From Middle English moderly, from Old English mōdorlīċ (“motherly, maternal”), from Proto-Germanic *mōdērlīkaz (“motherly, maternal”), equivalent to mother + -ly.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.