1 having feelings that are typical of a caring mother towards a child:
maternal love * I'm not very maternal. * She didn't have any maternal instincts.
2 connected with being a mother:
Maternal age affects the baby's survival rate. * the effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy
3 [onlybeforenoun] related through the mother's side of the family:
my maternal grandfather (= my mother's father)
maternally adverb:
She behaved maternally towards her students.
comparePATERNAL
