motherwise

M3O1T1H4E1R1W4I1S1E1
UK/ˈmʌð.əˌwaɪz/US/ˈmʌð.ɚˌwaɪz/

adverb

In the manner of a mother; maternally.

Scrabble 18
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Meanings

adverbmotherwise (not comparable)
  1. not comparableIn the manner of a mother; maternally.

    Then she looked at Paragot and the child, a yard or two in front of us. "He is the image of his father," she said almost reverentially. […] "Pauvre chéri," said Blanquette, motherwise.

    1906, William John Locke, The Beloved Vagabond
    1 more example

    The chubby father let the baby slide into one of the heavy wooden chairs, and the little girl instantly busied herself, motherwise, smoothing out the child's rumpled frock of clean faded calico, placing his fat legs to give a better balance in the big seat, straightening the cheap wide straw hat, ludicrously too old, that was fastened with a string under his double chin.

    1899, The Atlantic Monthly, volume 84, page 840

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
maternally

Origin

mother + -wise

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

withersome
Cite this entry
APA

motherwise. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/motherwise

MLA

“motherwise.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/motherwise. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “motherwise,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/motherwise.

Source: motherwise on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.