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mater

[mey-ter]
noun, plural ma·ters, ma·tres [mey-treez] /ˈmeɪ triz/.
  1. British Informal. mother1.
  2. the backing holding the movable parts of an astrolabe.
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Origin of mater

First recorded in 1585–95, mater is from the Latin word māter
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for maters

Historical Examples

  • Maters gone over to the Baker woman; I saw her cross the road.

    Twos and Threes

    G. B. Stern

  • Maters are different, and I'm glad you thought of that, Tom.

  • She would give bond to pay all that her apparel, and the other maters she had, would fall short of.

    Clarissa, Volume 7

    Samuel Richardson

  • Ye raily must talke ter mi loryer; them maters I leaves 'tirely ter him.'

    Among the Pines

    James R. Gilmore

  • The maters got a notion that my lungs are weak, and was saying only the other day that a sea trip would do me good.

    King of the Air

    Herbert Strang

British Dictionary definitions for maters

mater

noun
  1. British public school slang, often facetious a word for mother 1
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Word Origin

C16: from Latin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012