Supermommy

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An exceptionally capable and dedicated mother who manages household duties, childcare, and often professional responsibilities with remarkable skill and energy
2. A mother who demonstrates extraordinary multitasking abilities and resilience in balancing parenting, work, and home management tasks effectively
3. A parent recognized for superior nurturing qualities and efficient handling of family obligations alongside other personal or career challenges

Etymology: Supermommy is a plain compound: "super-", from Latin "super" meaning "above" or "beyond," which English has used since the 1800s as a prefix meaning exceptional or outstanding, joined to "mommy," the informal American form of "mother" (a child's word, recorded from the mid-1800s onward). Compounds of "super" with a common noun became a popular pattern in the twentieth century, and "supermom" appeared in American English around the 1960s, with "supermommy" a more playful variant of the same idea. The word's life has been closely tied to the cultural expectations it names. Its spread in the 1970s and 1980s coincided with public debate over whether women could manage paid work and childrearing at once, and the term was often used with irony, describing a mother expected to excel at everything. Because it is a formation from familiar parts, its exact first attestation is hard to pin down with confidence.

Synonyms: super mom, supermother, supermum

Antonyms: neglectful mother