| Motherly 1. (a.) Of or pertaining to a mother; like, or suitable for, a mother; tender; maternal; as, motherly authority, love, or care. 2. (adv.) In a manner of a mother. Thesaurus Entries aboriginal, ancestorial, antepatriarchal, atavistic, autochthonous, fatherlike, fatherly, grandfatherly, grandmotherly, grandparental, humanoid, maternal, mother, motherlike, motherly, parent, parental, paternal, patriarchal, preadamite, preglacial, prehistoric, prehuman, prime, primeval, primitive, primogenial, primoprimitive, primordial, pristine, protohistoric, protohuman |