Mother

A mother is typically the biological or social female parent of a child or
offspring while the male parent is the father.

In the case of a mammal such as a human, the mother gestates her child
(called first an embryo, then a fetus) in the womb from conception until the
fetus is sufficiently well-developed to be born. The mother then goes into
labour and gives birth. Once the child is born, the mother's breasts produce
milk to feed the child.

Mothers typically have a very important role in raising children, and the
title mother can be given to a woman other than a biological parent who
fills this role. This is most commonly either an adoptive parent or a
stepmother (the wife of a child's father).

The term can also refer to a woman with stereotypical traits of a mother.

In the United States, Australia and Canada mothers are celebrated on the
second Sunday in May (which has been called Mother's Day since the late
nineteenth century). In France, mothers are celebrated on the last Sunday in
May. A similar holiday in the United Kingdom, Mothering Sunday, falls on the
fourth Sunday of Lent.

Mom, mama, ma, mummy and mum are some familiar or colloquial words for a
mother. Many times these terms denote affection or a maternal role in a
child's life : "anyone can be a mother, but it takes someome special to be a
Mum." As such, someone can be a mother and not a mum, or a mum and not a
mother.

In contemporary society, single mother, a mother only with a child, has
become a serious social issue.

Mother can also be used as a title or polite form of address to a spiritual
mother in Christianity, such as an abbess or the wife of a priest.

The term "mother" is also used metaphorically to mean source or creator, as
in the phrase "Necessity is the mother of invention", or the main one, as in
motherboard and the "mother of all wars".

Mother or mother of vinegar is a slime composed of yeast and bacteria that
develops on fermenting alcoholic liquids. It is added to wine to produce
vinegar.

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