earth mother
1
8.5
- noun
- /ˈɜrθ ˈmʌðər/
- Literature
:
madre tierra
- If this image seems too maudlin, let us remember that other lactating women can feed an infant, but we have only one earth mother.
- womb of the earth mother
Examples
-
A myth suggests that she is (or was) also an earth-mother (see endnote 2 above).
Academic text (2016) -
These sacred spaces were understood to be expressions of Pachamama ("earth mother"), revealing the Andean association of a sacred female with a venerated mountain.
Academic text (2007) -
"Is she some kind of earth mother?"
Fiction book (1999) -
Praying flute: Song of the earth mother.
Academic text (2007) -
This is similar to what happens in rural areas, where Pachamama (the earth-mother) is asked to make crops plentiful (Bastien 1978:71-78).
Academic text (1994) -
But before the earth-mother's vagina was opened up, none of these forms of periodicity could exist, and logically, there had to be either perpetual daylight or perpetual night.
Academic text (2016) -
All of the containers described above suggest an earth-mother with a sealed womb who is "opened up" so that night, or inversely, the sun (i.e., heavenly fire.
Academic text (2016) -
In writing about Paiute women, in particular the female artisans of that tribe, Austin again sought to negate misogynist images of women as passive earth mothers while affirming their connection to the land.
Fiction book (1996) -
Thus, the container from which daylight (or conversely, night) is released would be the sealed womb of the earth-mother, and the opening up of her vaginal passage causes the sun to rise for the first time, thereby bringing an end to the long night (or conversely, the long day).
Academic text (2016) -
In many cultures, the earth mother is revered as the source of life and fertility.
Synonyms
8
8.9
A Greek goddess who is the Earth and mother of the Titans
3
9.9
The Greek earth goddess who is mother of Cronus and the Titans
1
7.6
A female spirit who is linked to the earth and helps plants grow
A female being who people believe looks after the earth, plants, and crops
A figure in modern spiritual beliefs who represents Earth as a caring mother
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a person strongly connected to nature and nurturing' is directly derivable from combining 'earth' (the natural world) with 'mother' (a nurturing caregiver), so the sense follows straightforward compositional logic. This metaphorical but transparent compound is cross-linguistically common (e.g., 'Mother Earth'), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Earth mother may come from ancient ideas that the earth was like a loving mother who gives life, food and rain to people and plants. So, the phrase means 'a female deity or source of life and fertility'.