mothering

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
mother /ˈmʌðə/

▶noun

• 1 a woman in relation to her child or children.

  ■ a female animal in relation to its offspring.

• 2 (Mother) (especially as a title or form of address) the head of a female religious community.

• 3 informal an extreme example or very large specimen: the mother of all traffic jams.

• 4 vulgar slang, chiefly N. Amer. short for motherfucker.

▶verb

• 1 bring up (a child) with care and affection.

• 2 look after kindly and protectively.

• 3 dated give birth to.

– derivatives
motherhood noun,
mothering noun,
motherless adjective,
motherlessness noun.

– origin OE mōdor, of Gmc origin.