Motherly

(mŭth'er-lŷ), a. [A-S. mōdorlic.]

1. Pertaining to a mother; as, motherly power or authority.
2. Becoming a mother; tender; parental; as, motherly love or care.

Syn. — Maternal; parental. — MOTHERLY, MATERNAL. Motherly, being Anglo-Saxon, is the more familiar word of the two when both have the same meaning. Besides this, maternal is confined to the feelings of a mother toward her own children, whereas motherly has a secondary sense, as in the expression motherly care, &c., denoting a care like that of a mother for her offspring. There is, perhaps, a growing tendency thus to separate the two, confining motherly to the latter signification. “They termed her the great mother, for her motherly care in cherishing her brethren whilst young.” Raleigh. “When I see the motherly airs of my little daughters when playing with their puppets, I can not but flatter myself that their husbands and children will be happy in the possession of such wives and mothers.” Addison.