Dictionary

motherhouse en · NOUN

Etymology

From mother + house.

Meanings

1. The monastery from which the other 'houses' of a religious order or congregation were (directly or indirectly) founded, often eponymous.
   • The Cistercian order is named after its motherhouse Cîteaux in Burgundy, where abbot St. Bernard initiated in 1113 the reform of their branch of the Benedictine order, which has its motherhouse at Monte Cassino.
2. The convent which is the seat (and often the above original foundation) of the superior of an order or congregation, and/or on which lower ranking houses (such as priories under an abbot) depend.

Forms

Translations (3)

nl moederhuis (religious monastery from which the other houses were founded) · mvi 家元 (religious monastery from which the other houses were founded) · fr maison mère (religious monastery from which the other houses were founded)