mammy
Americannoun
plural
mammies-
Informal. mother.
-
Disparaging and Offensive. (formerly in the southern United States) a Black woman engaged to take care of white children or as a servant to a white family.
noun
-
a child's word for mother 1
-
a Black woman employed as a nurse or servant to a White family
Sensitive Note
At the time of the Civil War and into the 20th century, the mammy was characterized as being strong, kind, and loyal. But her image was also that of an overweight, unattractive, and often illiterate enslaved household servant. This reinforced the association of this designation with racial stereotypes of inferiority and abject submissiveness. See also Aunt Jemima.
Etymology
Origin of mammy
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She told the court, "I never heard my child say he loved me, call me mammy, take his first steps or start school."
From BBC • Feb. 25, 2026
“That’s all. And her time here, it was, I suppose, it was one of a very fulfilling time, because she was just a mammy here.”
From New York Times • Jul. 27, 2023
Per Ferris State University‘s Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia, the mammy caricature was “deliberately constructed to suggest ugliness.”
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 16, 2021
“You were a very proud mammy and you children will grow up knowing how strong their mammy was and make you so proud. RIP beautiful. Shine bright like the diamond you were.”
From Fox News • Feb. 5, 2019
“Your mamma too proud for you. What mammy say.”
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
