mata

American  

[mah-tuh, mah-tah] / ˈmɑ tə, ˈmɑ tɑ /

Or Mata

noun

Indian English.

1. mother (also used as a polite term of address for any older woman).

   My mata regularly made me puris with potatoes for breakfast.

2. a female spiritual leader or the mother, grandmother, or wife of a male spiritual leader (also used as a title with the leader’s name).

   This temple was built as a tribute to Mata Sheetla Devi, wife of the famous Guru Dronacharya.

   The lodge owner turned out to be a mata whom the villagers visited to hear their astrological predictions.

3. a female deity (also used as a title with the deity’s name).

   He was a devotee writing about lord Rama and mata Sita.

   Cows are considered to be a manifestation of the goddess Gau Mata.

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Etymology

Origin of mata

First recorded in 1870–75; from Sanskrit mātā, nominative of mātṛ “mother”; see also mother ¹ ( def. )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mata

Strong gusts distort people’s celebratory cries of “Jai mata di” and “Jai shiv shankar.”

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 27, 2024

Along with the mata mata turtle and reptile known as the tuatara, among the other animals studied were caecilians, a slithery type of amphibian with an outward appearance akin to snakes.

From Salon ● Nov. 9, 2022

Everyone repeat after me: “Bharat mata ki jai!” he shouted.

From New York Times ● Jul. 26, 2018

Rather than the usual "En-ger-land", Wembley reverberated to "Bharat mata ki Jai!"

From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2015

Sometimes a woman of high rank, dressed in gala costume, was presented to the victors with a whale's tooth in her hand; sometimes an ordinary mata was deputed to carry the whale's tooth.

From The Fijians A Study of the Decay of Custom by Basil Thomson

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