housemothern.
/ˈhaʊsˌmʌðə/, U.S. /ˈhaʊsˌməðər/ 1. The female head of a household or family; a mother whose main occupation is to look after her family and home, typically regarded as the embodiment of motherly virtues. Cf. housefather n. 1. Now rare.Frequently in German contexts, e.g. in quots. 1822, 1834, 1879, 1989.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinship group > family > [noun] > family or household > female head
lady of the housec1330
matriarch1606
housemother1822
materfamilias1861
mum1957
society > authority > rule or government > rule or government of family or tribe > head of family, tribe, or clan > [noun] > head of household > woman
ladyeOE
house lady?c1225
housewifec1225
goodwifec1275
mistressa1375
hussy1530
madam1647
goodya1680
housemistress1689
the Mrs1821
housemother1822
miesiesa1931
1822 Lit. Melange 23 Oct. 264/2 The aged house-mother died,..leaving her solitary partner..with an unfeigned longing to join her in the grave.
1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus ii. i, in Fraser's Mag. Feb. 177/2 The good Gretchen..hovered round him, as only a true housemother can: assiduously she cooked and sewed and scoured for him.
1860 W. M. Thackeray Roundabout Papers xviii The house-mother comes down to her family with a sad face.
1879 Scribner's Monthly Nov. 10/2 If the ‘house mother’, as the Germans say, beamed often at her children over a great dish of berries,..good blood and good feeling would be developed.
1989 R. Willett Americanization of Germany 1945–9 ix. 125 The concept of the ‘good housemother’ (Kinder, Küche, Kirche) nevertheless survived [in West Germany in the 1950's].
2. A woman in charge of and living in a boarding school house, children's home, etc. Cf. housefather n. 2. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > teaching > teacher > schoolteacher or schoolmaster > [noun] > housemaster or housemistress
housefather1777
housemaster1839
housemother1844
house head1862
housemistress1884
house dad1919
house mum1961
1844 H. Mann 7th Ann. Rep. Secretary Board of Educ. (Boston, Mass.) 75 A family of twelve boys or of twelve girls, under the care of a House-Father or House-Mother, as the assistants are respectively called.
1882 Standard 16 Nov. 1/6 The Managers require a..woman to take charge of and act as House-Mother of a House containing from 20 to 25 Girls and Infants, at their Separate Home School.
1917 Times 10 Jan. 11/3 New Women's Hostel... There will be no irritating rules, and an excellent ‘house mother’ has been found.
1959 Tablet 7 Mar. 240/1 Resident Roman Catholic Housemother required to act as Deputy to Housemother-in-charge.
1970 Observer 25 Jan. 6/5 The house mother—a woman who calls daily to look after a family in their own home.
2009 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) July 92/1 Her housemother saw that she needed a talking-to and brought her into the office of the headmaster.
Derivatives
ˈhouseˌmotherly adj. [compare German hausmütterlich (end of the 18th cent.)] resembling a housemother; characteristic of a housemother.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinship group > family > [adjective] > relating to a family or household > characteristic of a house-mother
housemotherly1880
1880 R. Broughton Second Thoughts I. i. i. 5 Gillian, gaily, wrapping..with house-motherly precaution, a woolly shawl round the shoulders of Emilia.
1916 M. A. Taggart Hollyhock House vii. 119 You're the reliable, house-motherly little soul,..yet I'm older than you are.
2008 New Yorker 9 June 132/3 A housemotherly, middle-aged stewardess who's helping him clean up some coffee.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1822