Meanings
alternative mamanpian
- Caribbeanno pluralobsoleteThe primary lesion caused by yaws, typically surrounded by other, smaller lesions.
A large persistent yaw is sometimes known as the "mother," or "grandmother," or "mama-pian"[…]
1903 [1898], Sir Patrick Manson, Tropical Diseases, Cassell & Company, ltd., page 5262 more examples
One ulcer is usually larger and fouler than the rest, and this is known by the negroes […] as the mama-pian, or mama yaw.
1860, Robert J. Jordan, Skin Diseases and Their Remedies, page 191[T]he master-fungus being named mama-pian, or mother-yaw, as supposed to be the source or supply of the rest.
1822, John Mason Good, edited by Samuel Cooper, The Study of Medicine, volume 2, page 675Synonyms: mamma-yaw, master yaw, mother-yaw
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe primary lesion caused by yaws, typically surrounded by other, smaller lesions.
Origin
Compound of mama + pian. Compare Spanish mama-pian, French mamanpian, mère des pians. First attested in 1822.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
mama-pian. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mama-pian
“mama-pian.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mama-pian. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mama-pian,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mama-pian.
Source: mama-pian on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.