Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A woman who takes the place of the mother in suckling and bringing up a child; a nurse.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a woman who is a foster parent and raises another's child

Etymologies

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Examples

  • But even beyond that, it was more the people that I met later on in life that were such a great influence on me, like y foster-mother, Betsey Shirley.

    Zorianna Kit: Star of Buck Speaks Out About What You Didn't See in the Film Zorianna Kit 2011

  • But Rome is my foster-mother, and were I untrue to her, of little pride, of little worth would be my love for you.

    Chapter 17 2010

  • They were spiritual orphans then, not yet embracing, as foster-mother, the Catholic church.

    The Virgin of Guadalupe celebration in Oaxaca 2007

  • “We welcome you also, as a daughter is welcomed by her foster-mother, to the land where you received an American education,” he gushed.

    The Last Empress Hannah Pakula 2009

  • They were spiritual orphans then, not yet embracing, as foster-mother, the Catholic church.

    The Virgin of Guadalupe celebration in Oaxaca 2007

  • In Celtic mythology, the Lughnasadh festival is said to have been begun by the god Lugh, as a funeral feast and games commemorating his foster-mother, Tailtiu, who died of exhaustion after clearing the plains of Ireland for agriculture.

    Archive 2008-04-01 Jan 2008

  • Oh, it seems to me we have often more cause to be grateful to a foster-mother than to our own mother.

    John Gabriel Borkman 2008

  • Oh, it seems to me we have often more cause to be grateful to a foster-mother than to our own mother.

    John Gabriel Borkman 2008

  • Frances Mans, foster-mother of pupil Gweneth Mulder, said cellphones and e-mail correspondence were out of bounds during the week.

    ANC Daily News Briefing 2007

  • Kepler, I think, it is who praises poverty as the foster-mother of genius; but Bernard Palissy was nearer the truth when he said: — Pauvret� emp阠he bons esprits de parvenir (poverty hinders fine minds from succeeding).

    Oscar Wilde, His Life and Confessions 2007

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