Mother Hubbard
[huhb-erd]
- a full, loose gown, usually fitted at the shoulders, worn by women.
- a character in a nursery rhyme.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for mother hubbard
Historical Examples
She was dressed in a shabby Mother-Hubbard gown and her feet were bare.
The Pacific TriangleSydney Greenbie
The wizard was tall and thin and wore a long white beard, a sort of Mother-Hubbard gown, and a pointed cap.
Philo Gubb Correspondence-School DetectiveEllis Parker Butler
Certainly it is not the loose and ungainly Mother-Hubbard gowns which are still the style of the native maiden.
The Pacific TriangleSydney Greenbie
Some were in Mother-Hubbard gowns, some in pongee silks, some in canvas and white duck, cut either for street or evening wear.
The Pacific TriangleSydney Greenbie
Mother Hubbard
- (sometimes not capitals) a woman's full-length unbelted dress
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Word Origin
C19: after Mother Hubbard, a character in a nursery rhyme
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
Word Origin and History for mother hubbard
Mother Hubbard
Old Mother Hubbard, nursery rhyme, was printed 1805, written by Sarah Catherine Martin (1768-1826) but based on earlier material of unknown origin (the name is attested from 1591).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper