mother-in-law
[ muhth -er-in-law ]
/ ˈmʌð ər ɪnˌlɔ /
noun, plural moth·ers-in-law.
the mother of one's husband or wife.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
father, sibling, mother, cousin, folk, uncle, niece, aunt, agnate, cognate, connection, blood, folks, relation, grandparents, sister-in-law, stepbrother, sib, stepparent, brother-in-law
Nearby words
- mother wit,
- mother yaw,
- mother's boy,
- mother's day,
- mother's helper,
- mother-in-law plant,
- mother-in-law's tongue,
- mother-naked,
- mother-of-pearl,
- mother-of-pearl cloud
Origin of mother-in-law
1350–1400; Middle English modyr in lawe
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for mother-in-law
mother-in-law
noun plural mothers-in-law
the mother of one's wife or husband
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
mother-in-law
mid-15c., "mother of one's spouse," from mother (n.1) + in-law. Also in early use, "stepmother." In British slang c.1884, mother-in-law was "a mixture of ales old and bitter."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper