Mam

Part of speech: noun, pronoun

Definitions

1. A term of endearment commonly used for one's mother or maternal figure
2. A slang expression that can denote a woman in a position of authority or respect
3. An informal address directed at a woman, particularly in service contexts or polite conversation

Etymology: The word "mam" is a nursery name for mother, and its origin is uncertain. One line of thought links it to "mammary," from Latin "mamma," the breast. The idea is that a child's first sounds, made while nursing, came to name the one who nursed. That fits the pattern of many family words, which tend to be built from the easy consonants and vowels babies make, such as "ma," "mama," and "mamma." Other evidence points to a wider family of forms across the Germanic languages. Early Scots had "mame" for mother and "mamye" for a wet nurse, and Scots still uses "mam." Saterland Frisian has "Määme," and West Frisian has "mem." These similar forms suggest that the word may have been conserved from an older shared source, or that it was shaped by a common stock of baby-talk, rather than borrowed from Latin. The two possibilities are hard to separate, so the relationship to "mammary" remains a possibility rather than a settled fact.

Synonyms: mother, mom