commater

Latin

Etymology

From com- (“joint”) +‎ māter (“mother”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [kɔmˈmaː.tɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [komˈmaː.ter]

Noun

commāter f (genitive commātris); third declension

1. (Late Latin) godmother (in relation to godchild or fellow godparent or parent)
2. (informal) a female companion, buddy

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	commāter	commātrēs
genitive	commātris	commātrum
dative	commātrī	commātribus
accusative	commātrem	commātrēs
ablative	commātre	commātribus
vocative	commāter	commātrēs

Coordinate terms

• compater

Descendants

• Eastern Romance:
  • Romanian: cumătră (possibly)
• Italo-Romance:
  • Italian: comare
  • Neapolitan: cummà
  • Sicilian: cummari
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Catalan: comare
  • French: commère
• Ibero-Romace:
  • Extremaduran: comairi
  • Galician: comadre
  • Mirandese: cumadre
  • Portuguese: comadre
  • Spanish: comadre

References

• “commater”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.