Parents
A while ago, fellow writer and friend Angela Russell asked where
we get the words we use to label our parents. Since this is a family-friendly
blog, I’ve stuck with traditional words, leaving out those terms of
non-endearment that might be used by children under duress.
Mother comes from the Old English word, modor,
which comes from Proto-Germanic. Chances are good mother was born of ma,
that first sound many babies make (many etymologists associate ma
with suckling), paired with –ther, known as a kinship suffix
(sometimes showing up as –ter).
That ma sound gave us most our words for mother. It seems almost all
Indo-European languages have some form of ma or mamma:
Welsh: mam
French: maman
German: muhme
Greek: mamme
Persian, Russian, Lithuanian & others: mama
In 1844 in American English the word mommy grew out of mamma.
And in 1867 mom was born of mommy. In Britain it seems mamma
morphed first in to mummy in 1815, and then into mum by 1823.
And on to the dads.
In the 1200s the word sire appeared in English, meaning lord or liege. Within fifty years it
came to also mean father.
The OId English word fæder came from Proto-Germanic and
gave us our modern word father. Fæder ‘s original
meanings included he who begets a child,
nearest male relative, & supreme being. Other words that share father’s
etymological lineage include:
Dutch: vader
German: vater
Gothic: atta
Old Irish: athir
Old Persian: pita
Sanskrit: pitar
Greek & Latin: pater
In multiple sources I find commentary that the word dad
is thought to be “prehistoric” – far older than written records could possibly
show. I am astounded to find no similar claims for mama, which forces me to
question whether this mostly reflects solid research, or mostly reflects
sexism. Hmmm. My musings notwithstanding, about 1500 the word daddy
appeared.
The Old French word papa made its way into English in
the 1680s. Americans shortened papa to pop in 1838.
Back in 1200 the term old man came to mean boss, father or husband, though it took
until 1775 for old lady to come
to mean mother or wife.
It was no surprise that I was unable to find the terms of
endearment my sister & I used for our parents, Muz & Puz.
This causes me to wonder whether other offspring labeled their parents in a
similarly odd or unique fashion. Good readers, I’m hoping you’ll address these
wonderings in the comments section.