‖Mma-, prefix
/ˈ(ə)mma/
- Origin:
- Sotho, SetswanaShow more Sotho and Setswana.
Among Sotho and Tswana peoples, used as a woman’s title, usually indicating respect or affection: a. ‘Mother of’, prefixed to the first name of one of the woman’s children, especially of her first-born son. b. ‘Mrs’, ‘Mother’, or ‘Ma’, prefixed to the woman’s surname, clan name, or (occasionally) nick-name or husband’s title. Cf. Ma- prefix1, Mama sense 1 a, Mme.
1961 M.A. Wall Dominee & Dom-Pas 48‘No, Mma-moruti,’ replied one of the old women. ‘We have been lucky, we are glad.’
‘Mother of’, prefixed to the first name of one of the woman’s children, especially of her first-born son.
‘Mrs’, ‘Mother’, or ‘Ma’, prefixed to the woman’s surname, clan name, or (occasionally) nick-name or husband’s title.
Visualise Quotations
Quotation summarySenses
Copyright © 2023 Dictionary Unit for South African English.