Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Mother \Moth"er\, a.
   Received by birth or from ancestors; native, natural; as,
   mother language; also acting the part, or having the place of
   a mother; producing others; originating.

         It is the mother falsehood from which all idolatry is
         derived.                                 --T. Arnold.

   {Mother cell} (Biol.), a cell which, by endogenous divisions,
      gives rise to other cells (daughter cells); a parent cell.
      

   {Mother church}, the original church; a church from which
      other churches have sprung; as, the mother church of a
      diocese.

   {Mother country}, the country of one's parents or ancestors;
      the country from which the people of a colony derive their
      origin.

   {Mother liquor} (Chem.), the impure or complex residual
      solution which remains after the salts readily or
      regularly crystallizing have been removed.

   {Mother queen}, the mother of a reigning sovereign; a queen
      mother.

   {Mother tongue}.
   (a) A language from which another language has had its
       origin.
   (b) The language of one's native land; native tongue.

   {Mother water}. See {Mother liquor} (above).

   {Mother wit}, natural or native wit or intelligence.

Mother \Moth"er\, n. [OE. moder, AS. m[=o]dor; akin to D.
   moeder, OS. m[=o]dar, G. mutter, OHG. muotar, Icel.
   m[=o][eth]ir, Dan. & Sw. moder, OSlav. mati, Russ. mate, Ir.
   & Gael. mathair, L. mater, Gr. mh`thr, Skr. m[=a]t[.r]; cf.
   Skr. m[=a] to measure. [root]268. Cf. {Material}, {Matrix},
   {Metropolis}, {Father}.]
   1. A female parent; especially, one of the human race; a
      woman who has borne a child.

   2. That which has produced or nurtured anything; source of
      birth or origin; generatrix.

            Alas! poor country! . . . it can not Be called our
            mother, but our grave.                --Shak.

            I behold . . . the solitary majesty of Crete, mother
            of a religion, it is said, that lived two thousand
            years.                                --Landor.

   3. An old woman or matron. [Familiar]

   4. The female superior or head of a religious house, as an
      abbess, etc.

   5. Hysterical passion; hysteria. [Obs.] --Shak.

   {Mother Carey's chicken} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several
      species of small petrels, as the stormy petrel
      ({Procellaria pelagica}), and Leach's petrel ({Oceanodroma
      leucorhoa}), both of the Atlantic, and {O. furcata} of the
      North Pacific.

   {Mother Carey's goose} (Zo["o]l.), the giant fulmar of the
      Pacific. See {Fulmar}.

   {Mother's mark} (Med.), a congenital mark upon the body; a
      n[ae]vus.

Mother \Moth"er\, v. i.
   To become like, or full of, mother, or thick matter, as
   vinegar.

Mother \Moth"er\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Mothered}; p. pr. & vb.
   n. {Mothering}.]
   To adopt as a son or daughter; to perform the duties of a
   mother to.

         The queen, to have put lady Elizabeth besides the
         crown, would have mothered another body's child.
                                                  --Howell.

Mother \Moth"er\, n. [Akin to D. modder mud, G. moder mold, mud,
   Dan. mudder mud, and to E. mud. See {Mud}.]
   A film or membrane which is developed on the surface of
   fermented alcoholic liquids, such as vinegar, wine, etc., and
   acts as a means of conveying the oxygen of the air to the
   alcohol and other combustible principles of the liquid, thus
   leading to their oxidation.

   Note: The film is composed of a mass of rapidly developing
         micro["o]rganisms of the genus {Mycoderma}, and in the
         {mother of vinegar} the micro["o]rganisms ({Mycoderma
         aceti}) composing the film are the active agents in the
         Conversion of the alcohol into vinegar. When thickened
         by growth, the film may settle to the bottom of the
         fluid. See {Acetous fermentation}, under
         {Fermentation}.

Source : WordNet®

mother
     n 1: a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term
          of address to your mother); "the mother of three
          children" [syn: {female parent}] [ant: {father}, {father}]
     2: a stringy slimy substance consisting of yeast cells and
        bacteria; forms during fermentation and is added to cider
        or wine to produce vinegar
     3: a term of address for an elderly woman
     4: a condition that is the inspiration for an activity or
        situation; "necessity is the mother of invention"

mother
     v 1: care for like a mother; "She fusses over her husband" [syn:
          {fuss}, {overprotect}]
     2: make children; "Abraham begot Isaac"; "Men often father
        children but don't recognize them" [syn: {beget}, {get}, {engender},
         {father}, {sire}, {generate}, {bring forth}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

mother
     
        {parent}