maternal

Universal Words adjective 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