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Glite Dictionary
godmotherhood

godmotherhood

7.9
An adult chosen to support and guide a child after their baptism
  • noun
  • /ˈɡɑːdmʌðərhʊd/
: maternidad espiritual
  • In her community, she embraced her role of godmotherhood with great pride, celebrating the baptism of her godchild.
  • godmotherhood and comotherhood

Examples

  • Klapisch-Zuber concluded from this that godmotherhood and comotherhood were less significant in Florence than godfatherhood and cofatherhood.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Godmotherhood and comotherhood may have had a subordinate character relative to godfatherhood and cofatherhood only when men generated the sources.

    Academic text (1995)

  • During the ceremony, her godmotherhood was recognized, highlighting the importance of her spiritual guidance.

  • Many women cherish their godmotherhood as an opportunity to support and nurture their godchildren throughout their lives.

Surface Forms

godmotherhood singular
godmotherhoods plural

Morphology

godmotherhood = godmother (transparent) = god + mother + hood

The noun is formed by adding the productive suffix '-hood' to the compound 'godmother', yielding the state/role of being a godmother; the derivation is directly predictable.

Etymology

Godmotherhood is made from god, mother, and the ending -hood, where god means 'a religious guardian', mother means 'a female parent', and -hood means 'the state of'. So, godmotherhood is the 'state of being a godmother', the person chosen to help a child's religious life, just like motherhood is the state of being a mother.