แม่

Etymology

From Proto-Tai *meːᴮ (“mother”). Cognate with Lao ແມ່ (mǣ); Lü ᦶᦙᧈ (mae¹); Shan မႄႈ (māae); Ahom 𑜉𑜦𑜧 (mee); Zhuang meh.

Pronunciation

Noun

แม่ • (mɛ̂ɛ)

1. mother, as female parent, mother-in-law, stepmother, adoptive mother, etc.
2. (somewhat archaic) young, beloved woman; girlfriend.
3. woman in power, as queen, mistress, goddess, etc.
4. person regarded or revered as mother, as diva signer, elderly woman, elderly trans woman, etc.
5. (sometimes considered derogatory or disrespectful) any woman.
6. used as a term of address to or title for the above-described persons.
7. used as a modifier to indicate femininity.
8. used as a modifier to indicate charge, leadership, principality, superiority, or supremacy, irrespective of the sex, such as แม่ทัพ (mɛ̂ɛ-táp; "troop commander"), บริษัทแม่ (bɔɔ-rí-sàt-mɛ̂ɛ; "parent company"), กฎหมายแม่ (gòt-mǎai-mɛ̂ɛ; "primary legislation"), แม่กุญแจ (mɛ̂ɛ-gun-jɛɛ; "master key"), etc.
9. (chiefly used of animals) used as a modifier to indicate maternity, such as แม่ไก่ (mɛ̂ɛ-gài; "mother hen"), แม่แมว (mɛ̂ɛ-mɛɛo; "mother cat"), etc.
10. river; used as a prefix to the name of a river.
11. (grammar) category assigned to a syllable based on its ending sound:
    1. the category กก (gòk) for a syllable ended by the sound [k], which is represented by the letter ก (gɔɔ), ข (kɔ̌ɔ), ฃ (kɔ̌ɔ), ค (kɔɔ), ฅ (kɔɔ), or ฆ (kɔɔ);
    2. the category กง (gong) for a syllable ended by the sound [ŋ], which is represented by the letter ง (ngɔɔ);
    3. the category กด (gòt) for a syllable ended by the sound [t], which is represented by the letter จ (jɔɔ), ฉ (chɔ̌ɔ), ช (chɔɔ), ซ (sɔɔ), ฌ (chɔɔ), ฎ (dɔɔ), ฏ (dtɔɔ), ฐ (tɔ̌ɔ), ฑ (tɔɔ), ฒ (tɔɔ), ด (dɔɔ), ต (dtɔɔ), ถ (tɔ̌ɔ), ท (tɔɔ), ธ (tɔɔ), ศ (sɔ̌ɔ), ษ (sɔ̌ɔ), or ส (sɔ̌ɔ);
    4. the category กน (gon) for a syllable ended by the sound [n], which is represented by the letter ญ (yɔɔ), ณ (nɔɔ), น (nɔɔ), ร (rɔɔ), ล (lɔɔ), or ฬ (lɔɔ);
    5. the category กบ (gòp) for a syllable ended by the sound [p], which is represented by the letter บ (bɔɔ), ป (bpɔɔ), พ (pɔɔ), ฟ (fɔɔ), or ภ (pɔɔ);
    6. the category กม (gom) for a syllable ended by the sound [m], which is represented by the letter ม (mɔɔ);
    7. the category เกย (gəəi) for a syllable ended by the sound [j], which is represented by the letter ย (yɔɔ);
    8. the category เกอว (gəəo) for a syllable ended by the sound [w], which is represented by the letter ว (wɔɔ);
    9. the category ก กา (gɔɔ gaa) for an open syllable.