maternity
(məˈtɜːnɪtɪ)
[ad. F. maternité = med.L. māternitās, f. L. mātern-us: see maternal and -ity.]
1. a. The quality or condition of being a mother; the character or relation of a mother; motherhood.
| 1611 Cotgr., Maternité, maternitie. 1633 [H. Hawkins] Parthen. Sacra 47 In the Violet Marie may you consider..the golden coulour of Maternitie or Charitie in her; since her Charitie was the cause of her Maternitie. 1656 Blount Glossogr., Maternity, motherhood, the being a mother. 1847 Card. Wiseman Unreal. Anglic. Belief Ess. (1853) 424 It is impossible to realize a belief in the maternity of the Blessed Virgin, without thus considering her. 1874 J. Taylor Etrusc. Res. 57 A state of society in which..maternity constituted the only relationship that could legally be recognised. 1879 Tourgee Fool's Err. i. 9 The wife of a year, as the perils of maternity drew nigh in the absence of her husband. 1894 H. Drummond Ascent Man 23 Even in the lowliest world of plants the labours of Maternity begin. |
† b. As a title of the mother superior of a convent.
| a 1693 Urquhart's Rabelais iii. xxxiv. 287 The Pope did represent to their Maternities. |
c. Short for
maternity hospital. [So F.
maternité.]
| 1889 Lancet 7 Sept. 509/2 The hospital..has also a large extern maternity attached. |
2. The character or qualities properly belonging to a mother; motherliness.
| 1804 Something Odd II. 186 Mr. Macdonald was delighted at this maternity. 1823 Lamb Elia Ser. ii. Poor Relations, His stars are perpetually crossed by the malignant maternity of an old woman, who persists in calling him ‘her son Dick’. 1842 J. W. Orderson Creol. xv. 175 An interesting loveliness that endeared her..to the maternity of the two elderly ladies. 1883 H. Drummond Nat. Law in Spir. W. (ed. 2) 154 The tender maternity of the bird. |
3. attrib.:
maternity leave;
maternity benefit, a welfare service payment made to women, under specified conditions, after the period of confinement;
maternity home = maternity hospital;
maternity hospital, a hospital for the reception and treatment of women during the period of confinement; so
maternity nurse,
maternity ward, etc.;
maternity jacket slang (see
quot. 1925); also
ellipt. as
maternity.
| 1911 Q. Rev. Oct. 561 When both husband and wife are insured, they are to be entitled, in case of the wife's confinement, to both sickness and *maternity benefit. 1911 [see benefit n. 3 d]. 1945 Release & Resettlement (H.M. Govt.) xii. 40 The benefits of the National Health Insurance Scheme include..maternity benefit. 1957 Brudno & Bower Taxation in U.K. 523/1 Maternity benefits. 1970 National Insurance: Maternity Benefits (Dept. Health & Social Security, NI 17A) i. i. 6 There are two maternity benefits—maternity grant and maternity allowance. Both benefits may be paid for a confinement provided the conditions are satisfied. Ibid. iii. xxiii. 18 Any question about contributions, including whether the contribution tests for maternity benefit..are satisfied, is reserved for the Secretary of State for Social Services. |
| 1903 Strand Mag. Apr. 423/1 In addition to the general wards there are..a *maternity department [etc.]. |
| 1922 Encycl. Brit. XXX. 652/1 The supervision of midwifery, including the establishment of *maternity homes. 1926 Act 16 & 17 Geo. V c. 32 §12 The expression ‘maternity home’ means any premises used or intended to be used for the reception of pregnant women or of women immediately after childbirth. 1967 Encycl. Brit. XV. 66/1 Increasing grants have been made by some governments for the construction of free maternity homes or maternity wards in general hospitals. |
| 1881 *Maternity hospital [see extern B. 2 c]. 1887 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 12 Mar. 591/1 Manchester has long felt the want of a maternity hospital. |
| 1925 Fraser & Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 154 *Maternity jacket, the name given the double breasted tunic, worn formerly in the Royal Flying Corps. 1958 ‘N. Shute’ Rainbow & Rose ii. 66 A very young man in the double-breasted ‘maternity’ jacket of the Royal Flying Corps. Ibid. iii. 91 She insisted on giving me a buttonhole..but my maternity hadn't got a buttonhole to put it in. |
| 1970 Guardian 21 May 13/2 At present, *maternity leave is based on the custom and practice of either individual companies or sections of industry. 1973 Times 17 Mar. 2/2 Mrs Christine Page..said: ‘Because of the economic uncertainty of some families, we are asking for this maternity leave to be negotiated.’ |
| 1902 Daily Chron. 1 Mar. 4/3 Miss F., a *maternity nurse. |
b. Used
attrib. of garments
spec. designed for pregnant women.
| 1893 Ladies' Home Jrnl. Apr. 28/2 Summer maternity gowns. 1907 Dress Jan. p. xx, My Maternity corsets are recommended by physicians everywhere. 1951 I. Shaw Troubled Air x. 164 She was wearing one of her shapeless tent-like maternity dresses. 1962 M. Drabble Summer Bird-Cage vi. 92 She would wear pretty maternity dresses and be an excellent mother. 1963 ‘G. Bagby’ Murder's Little Helper (1964) ii. 14 What kind of a burglar is it that swipes maternity clothes? Ibid., She hadn't splurged on maternity garments. 1964 M. Drabble Garrick Year i. 11 Three years of child-bearing and modelling maternity clothes. 1966 Guardian 5 Aug. 8/4 The wide coats and dresses have the ease of maternity wear. 1971 B. Malamud Tenants 211 Under a short maternity skirt her stomach is in flower. 1971 C. Storr Thursday vi. 63, I can just see myself in maternity smocks for the next ten years. |