pia mater

noun

The innermost of the meninges, the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord.

OriginMedieval Latin pia māter →
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Meanings

nounpia mater (plural pia maters)

plural pia maters

  1. anatomyThe innermost of the meninges, the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord.

    Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems— […]. Such a slow-release device containing angiogenic factors could be placed on the pia mater covering the cerebral cortex and tested in persons with senile dementia in long term studies.

    2013 May-June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, archived from the original on 24 Apr 2013, page 200

Origin

  1. Medieval Latinpia māter
  2. Englishpia mater

From Medieval Latin pia māter (literally “tender mother”).

More words from Medieval Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic الأم الحنون
  • الأم الحنون (al-umm al-ḥanūn)innermost of the meninges
Chinese Mandarin 軟腦膜 /软脑膜
  • 軟腦膜 /软脑膜 (ruǎnnǎomó)innermost of the meninges
Dutch Zacht hersenvlies, Pia mater
  • Zacht hersenvliesinnermost of the meninges
  • Pia materinnermost of the meninges
Finnish pehmeäkalvo
  • pehmeäkalvoinnermost of the meninges
French pie-mère
  • pie-mèreinnermost of the meninges
German Pia mater
  • Pia materinnermost of the meninges
Greek χοριοειδής μήνιγξ
  • χοριοειδής μήνιγξ (chorioeidís míninx)innermost of the meninges
Italian pia madre
  • pia madreinnermost of the meninges
Polish opona miękka
  • opona miękkainnermost of the meninges
Portuguese pia-máter
  • pia-máterinnermost of the meninges
Spanish piamadre
  • piamadreinnermost of the meninges
Swedish mjuka hjärnhinnan
  • mjuka hjärnhinnaninnermost of the meninges
Vietnamese màng mềm
  • màng mềminnermost of the meninges
Cite this entry
APA

pia mater. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pia%20mater

MLA

“pia mater.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pia%20mater. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pia mater,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pia%20mater.

Source: pia mater on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.