Ma

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A casual, affectionate name a child uses for their mother ; a Japanese idea of the meaningful pause or empty space between things
2. An informal term for one's mother in everyday speech ; a Japanese aesthetic concept describing the purposeful gap or interval between objects, sounds or moments
3. Familiar name for a mother, used mostly by children ; in Japanese culture, the significant negative space or pause that gives shape to a design or experience

Etymology: In Japanese, 間 (read "ma") names an interval: the pause between musical notes, the empty space between objects, the gap in time. English borrowed the term for that idea, and it is now used for the deliberate emptiness in art, architecture and design, where a space is valued for what it leaves unfilled. The more familiar noun is the nursery word for mother. It is one of the easiest sounds for infants to make, and parents tend to hear it as a call for themselves. Its shape resembles "mama," and it belongs to a family of baby-words that link infants' early sounds to words for parents across many languages.

Synonyms: mom, mama, mother, mum, mommy