| a. | 1. | Of or pertaining to a mother; becoming to a mother; motherly; |
| Adj. | 1. | maternal - characteristic of a mother; "warm maternal affection for her guest"- Dorothy Sayers Antonyms: paternal - characteristic of a father |
| 2. | maternal - relating to or derived from one's mother; "maternal genes" | |
| 3. | maternal - relating to or characteristic of or befitting a parent; "parental guidance" | |
| 4. | maternal - related on the mother's side; "my maternal grandmother" |
MATERNAL. That which belongs to, or comes from the mother: as, maternal authority, maternal relation, maternal estate, maternal line. Vide Line.
adoring, affectionate, ancestorial, ancestral, caring, conjugal, demonstrative, devoted, doting, faithful, fatherlike, fatherly, filial, fond, grandfatherly, grandmotherly, grandparental, husbandly, kind, kindly, languishing, lovelorn, lovesick, lovesome, loving, maternalistic, melting, mother, motherlike, motherly, nurturing, parent, parental, paternal, patriarchal, romantic, sentimental, soft, tender, understanding, uxorious, warm, wifely