Bemothered

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Overly fussed over or smothered with protective, mothering attention, often to the point of hampering independence
2. Treated with excessive maternal fussing and care that crowds out the freedom to act on one's own
3. Hovered over and cared for in an overbearing, motherly way that seems to suffocate the one being nurtured

Etymology: "Bemothered" is formed from the verb "mother" with the prefix "be-", the same Old English prefix found in "becloud" and "bedevil," which turns a verb into one meaning "to surround or affect thoroughly with the thing named." The verb "to mother," meaning to care for or treat someone as a mother would, dates to the 1500s, and the prefix "be-" was productive in forming such verbs well into the modern period. The past participle "bemothered" describes someone who has been subjected to this smothering attention. Because "mother" is itself a noun that became a verb, and then a participle, the word has moved through three grammatical roles: a concrete family term, a verb of care, and finally an adjective describing the one receiving it. The emotional sense, that such care can suffocate rather than nurture, comes from the way "mother" as a verb often carries an implication of excessive fussing.