motherkins en · NOUN · etymology 1
Etymology
From mother + -kins.
Meanings
-
(dated) Fond term of address for one's mother.
A distracted mother having answered a half a hundred queries in half an hour, at last implored her bright little eight-year-old to desist for a while. “Curiosity killed a cat, you know, dear,” she explained with half humorous philosophy. The little boy’s tongue was still for perhaps the space of three minutes. Then came a childish voice, low and gentle, but eager: “Motherkins, please tell me! What was it the cat wanted to know?”
1911 November 5, “Those Fool Questions—and Some Fool Retorts […]”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| motherkins | Number=Plur | lexicographic |