motherishadj.
/ˈmʌð(ə)rɪʃ/, U.S. /ˈməð(ə)rɪʃ/ Having the character, manner, or appearance of a mother; motherly, motherlike; (rare) befitting a mother.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > parent > mother > motherhood > [adjective] > resembling a mother
motherlike1530
motherly1530
maternal1785
motherish1851
1851 E. Duyckinck Let. 7 Aug. in Amer. Lit. (1937) 9 38 On the platform..Mr..James was distinctly visible, and a party which it was easy to make out..to be Mrs J, tall English and motherish,..J Jr—and a Miss James.
1868 L. M. Alcott Little Women I. xvi. 248 You'd laugh to see Meg head the table, and try to be motherish. She gets prettier every day, and I'm in love with her sometimes.
1971 ‘A. Blaisdell’ Pract. to Deceive xiv. 211 She decided to..tell her mother all about it. She'd be interested, and not at all, thought Sue fondly, motherish. Fluttering and alarmed.
1987 D. Delman Dead Faces Laughing xviii. 117 She's feeling all motherish. You're telling me a mother won't kill to protect her young?
1991 N. Baker U & I viii. 143 I remember being struck by a passage..in which she, or a motherish woman anyway, accuses him of writing about ugly things.
1995 State Jrnl.-Reg. (Springfield, Illinois) (Nexis) 1 Oct. 15 The next step, girdles, were just too motherish for my taste.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.1851