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mother-in-law

noun
/ˈmʌ.ðəɹ.ɪnˌlɔː/UK/ˈmʌ.ðəɹ.ɪnˌlɑː/

Etymology

From Middle English moder in lawe; equivalent to mother + -in-law.

  1. derived from moder in lawe

Definitions

  1. The mother of one's spouse.

    • For I am come to ſet a man at variance* againſt his father, ⁊ the daughter againſt her mother, and the daughter in law againſt her mother in law.
    • Odontophobia, or the fear of dental work, seems equally plausible, as does pentheraphobia - fear of the mother-in-law.

  2. A mother-in-law apartment.

  3. A mother-in-law sandwich.

  4. ›+ 2 more definitions

    1. A stepmother.

      • Do but consider, my dear Mr. Dashwood, how excessively comfortable your mother-in-law and her daughters may live on the interest of seven thousand pounds,

    2. A spicy Caribbean sauce made with peppers, carrots, onions, lime juice, etc.

The neighborhood

Derived

monster-in-law, stepmother-in-law, mother-in-law apartment, mother-in-law's cushion, mother-in-law language, mother-in-law sandwich, mother-in-law style, co-mother-in-law

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for mother-in-law. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA