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.
Source : WordNet®
mother country
n : the country where you were born [syn: {fatherland}, {homeland},
{motherland}, {country of origin}, {native land}]