grandmother

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A mother of someone's parent.
  2. A female ancestor or progenitor.
  3. In Amazonian shamanism and related contexts, a reverential name for the ayahuasca vine or brew, symbolizing its role as a wise, guiding spirit.

Pronunciation

/ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðə(r)/ en-uk-grandmother.ogg /ˈɡɹænˌmʌðə/ /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðɚ/ en-us-grandmother.ogg

Word forms

grandmother grandmothers grand-mother

Etymology

From Middle English graundmodre, grauntmoder, granmoder; equivalent to grand- + mother. Compare French grand-mère. Superseded earlier eldmother, eldermother.

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.