grandmother

English

Etymology

From Middle English graundmodre, grauntmoder, granmoder; equivalent to grand- +‎ mother. Compare French grand-mère. Superseded earlier eldmother, eldermother.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðə(r)/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹænˌmʌðə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðɚ/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: grand‧mo‧ther

Noun

grandmother (plural grandmothers)

1. A mother of someone's parent.
2. A female ancestor or progenitor.

Synonyms

• (mother of someone's parent): See Thesaurus:grandmother

Antonyms

• (with regard to gender): grandfather
• (with regard to ancestry): granddaughter, grandson, grandchild

Hypernyms

• grandparent

Hyponyms

• maternal grandmother
• paternal grandmother

Derived terms

• co-grandmother
• co-grandmother-in-law
• don't teach your grandmother how to suck eggs, don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs, don't teach your grandmother how to milk ducks, don't teach your grandmother to steal sheep
• GILF
• grandmother cell
• grandmother clock
• grandmotherhood
• grandmothering
• grandmother-in-law
• grandmotherless
• grandmotherly
• great-grandmother
• great-great-grandmother
• great great great grandmother
• if my grandmother had balls, she'd be my granddad, if my grandmother had wheels, she'd be a streetcar
• maternal grandmother
• paternal grandmother
• stepgrandmother
• you kiss your grandmother with that mouth

 

Related terms

• great-grandfather

Translations

Many languages use different terms for the mother of someone's father and the mother of someone's mother. When such a distinction is required in English, the phrases maternal grandmother (“mother of one's mother”) and paternal grandmother (“mother of one's father”) can be used. Specific translations can be added at those entries.

mother of someone's parent

• Afrikaans: ouma (af)
• Ainu: フチ (huci)
• Albanian: gjyshe (sq) f
• Alemannic German: Grosi f
• Aleut: kukax
• Ambonese Malay: oma, nene
• Amharic: ሴት አያት (set ʾäyat)
• Arabic: جَدَّة‎ (ar) f (jadda)

  Egyptian Arabic: تيته‎ f (tēta), جدة‎ f (gidda)

  Hijazi Arabic: أنّة‎ f (anna), ستّو‎ f (sittu)

  South Levantine Arabic: جدة‎ (jidde), ست‎ (sitt)

• Aragonese: agüela f
• Armenian: տատ (hy) (tat), տատիկ (hy) (tatik), հան (hy) (han)
• Aromanian: omã f, babã f
• Asturian: güela (ast) f
• Azerbaijani: nənə (az)

  Cyrillic: нәнә

• Balinese: dadong
• Basque: amona (eu)
• Belarusian: бабу́ля f (babúlja)
• Bengali: নানী (nani), নানু (nanu) (informal, maternal), দাদি (dadi) (paternal), দাদু (dadu) (informal, paternal)
• Breton: mamm-gozh (br) f
• Bulgarian: ба́ба (bg) f (bába)
• Burmese: အဘွား (my) (a.bhwa:), ဘွားဘွား (my) (bhwa:bhwa:)
• Catalan: àvia (ca) f, iaia (ca) f
• Central Dusun: todu
• Central Sierra Miwok: ʔamáˑ-
• Chamicuro: payako
• Cherokee: ᎡᏂᏏ (enisi) (paternal), ᎠᎵᏏ (alisi) (maternal)
• Chichewa: gogo
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 嫲嫲 (maa⁴ maa⁴) (paternal), 婆婆 (po⁴ po^4-2) (maternal), 祖母 (zou² mou⁵) (paternal), 外祖母 (ngoi⁶ zou² mou⁵) (maternal), 外婆 (ngoi⁶ po⁴) (maternal)

  Hakka: 阿婆 (â-phò) (paternal), 姐婆 (chiá-phò) (maternal), 外阿婆 (ngoi-â-phò) (maternal)

  Mandarin: 奶奶 (zh) (nǎinai) (paternal), 祖母 (zh) (zǔmǔ) (paternal), 外祖母 (zh) (wàizǔmǔ) (maternal), 外婆 (zh) (wàipó) (maternal, colloquial), 姥姥 (zh) (lǎolao) (maternal)

  Min Nan: 阿媽 (zh-min-nan), 阿妈 (zh-min-nan) (a-má), 外媽, 外妈 (guā-má) (maternal), 內媽, 內妈 (lāi-má) (paternal, indirect)

• Chinook Jargon: chope
• Chuvash: кукамай (kuk̬amaj), асанне (as̬anne)
• Corsican: mammone
• Crimean Tatar: qartana
• Czech: babička (cs) f
• Danish: bedstemor (da) c, bedste c (informal)
• Dutch: grootmoeder (nl) f, oma (nl) f
• Esperanto: avino (eo)
• Estonian: vanaema (et)
• Ewe: mama
• Extremaduran: please add this translation if you can
• Faroese: omma (fo) f
• Finnish: isoäiti (fi), mummi (fi), mummo (fi), äidinäiti (fi) (maternal), isänäiti (fi) (paternal)
• French: grand-mère (fr) f, aïeule (fr) f
• Friulian: none f, ave f
• Galician: avoa (gl) f
• Georgian: ბებია (bebia), დიდედა (dideda), ბებო (bebo), ბაბო (ka) (babo)
• German: Großmutter (de) f, Oma (de) f, Omi (de) f, Großmütterchen n (diminutive), Großmütterlein n (diminutive)

  Silesian: Grußmutter f, Gruußmutter f

• Greek: γιαγιά (el) f (giagiá), μάμμη (el) f (mámmi)

  Ancient: μάμμη f (mámmē), τήθη f (tḗthē)

• Greenlandic: aanaq, aanaa
• Guaraní: jarýi (gn)
• Halkomelem: sísele
• Hausa: kaka
• Hawaiian: kupunawahine
• Hebrew: סָבָה‎ (he) f (savá), סָבְתָא‎ (he) f (sávta)
• Hindi: दादी (hi) f (dādī), नानी (hi) f (nānī)
• Hungarian: nagyanya (hu), nagymama (hu)
• Icelandic: amma (is)
• Ido: avino (io)
• Igbo: nnenna
• Indonesian: nenek (id)
• Ingrian: ämmä
• Ingush: даь-нана (dä-nana) (paternal), наьн-нана (nän-nana) (maternal)
• Interlingua: granmatre (ia), ava (ia)
• Irish: máthair mhór f, seanmháthair (ga) f, mamó f, máthair chríonna f

  Old Irish: senmáthair f

• Italian: nonna (it) f
• Japanese: お婆さん (ja) (おばあさん, obāsan), お婆ちゃん (おばあちゃん, obāchan) (more informal than お婆さん, spoken more by smaller children), ばば (baba) (more informal than お婆さん, spoken more by smaller children), 祖母 (ja) (そぼ, sobo) (only about one's own, polite (deferential)), 外祖母 (ja) (がいそぼ, gaisobo) (maternal, only about one's own)
• Javanese: Eyang Putri
• Jeju: 할망 (halmang)
• Kashmiri: نانؠ‎ (nān')
• Kazakh: әже (kk) (äje)
• Khmer: ជីដូន (km) (ciidoun), យាយ (km) (yiəy), អយ្យកា (km) (ʼayyĕəʼkaa)
• Khoekhoe: ǁgaosas
• Korean: 할머니 (ko) (halmeoni), 외할머니 (ko) (oehalmeoni) (maternal)
• Krio: granny
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: داپیر‎ (ku) (dapîr), داپیرە‎ f (dapîre)

• Kyrgyz: ky (ky), кемпир (ky) (kempir)
• Lakota: uŋčí
• Lao: ຍ່າ (nyā) (paternal), ແມ່ເຖົ້າ (mǣ thao) (maternal)
• Latgalian: vace, vaceite, babeņa
• Latin: avia (la) f
• Latvian: vecāmāte f, vecmamma f, vecmāmiņa f

• Lithuanian: bobutė f, senelė (lt) f, močiutė (lt) f
• Low German:

  German Low German: Grootmoder f, Grotmoder f, Grootmodder f, Grootmudder f, Grotmudder f

• Luganda: jjajja omukazi
• Lutshootseed: kiaʔ, (vocative form) kayə
• Luxembourgish: Groussmamm f
• Macedonian: ба́ба (mk) f (bába)
• Malay: nenek
• Malayalam: മുത്തശ്ശി (muttaśśi), അമ്മുമ്മ (ml) (ammumma), അമ്മമ്മ (ml) (ammamma)
• Manchu: ᠮᠠᠮᠠ (mama), ᡤᠣᡵᠣ
  ᠮᠠᠮᠠ (goro mama)
• Maori: kuia, tipuna, tupuna, tāua,
• Marathi: आजी f (ājī)
• Maricopa: nkyew
• Mirandese: abó f, abó mai f, abó de las saias f, bó f
• Mongolian: эмээ (mn) (emee)
• Mòcheno: nu'na f
• Navajo: amá sání (maternal), análí (paternal)
• Neapolitan: nonna f
• Nepali: हजुरआमा (hajuraāmā)
• Ngazidja Comorian: koko 5 or 6
• Nivkh: ытик (ətik)
• Norman: grand'-mère m (Guernsey), manman f (Jersey), grand-méthe f (Jersey)
• North Frisian:

  Föhr: ualmam f

  Hallig: aol f

  Mooring: ååle f

• Northern Ohlone: ká̄na 'ek mél̄e
• Northern Sami: áhkku
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bestemor (no) m or f, mormor (no) m or f (maternal), farmor (no) m or f (paternal)

  Nynorsk: bestemor f, mormor f (maternal), farmor f (paternal)

• O'odham: hu'ul (maternal), ka꞉k (paternal)
• Ojibwe: (my grandmother) nookomis
• Old English: eald mōdor f
• Oriya: ଜେଜେମାଆ (jejemaa), ଆଈ (ai)
• Oromo: akkayyaa
• Pashto: نيا‎ (ps) f (nyā), انا‎ (ps) f (anā)
• Pennsylvania German: Groossmudder f, Groossmammi f
• Persian: مادربزرگ‎ (fa) (mâdar-bozorg), ننه‎ (fa) (nane) (dialectal)
• Polish: babcia (pl) f, babka (pl) f, babunia (pl) f (diminutive), baba (pl) f
• Portuguese: avó (pt) f
• Punjabi: ਨਾਨਿਮਾ f (nānimā)
• Quechua: jatun mama
• Romani: mami f
• Romanian: bunică (ro) f, mamaie (ro) f, mamă mare (ro) f
• Romansch: tatta f, tata f, nona f
• Russian: ба́бушка (ru) f (bábuška), бабу́ля (ru) f (babúlja) (endearing), бабу́ся (ru) f (babúsja) (endearing), ба́бка (ru) f (bábka) (can sound impolite), ба́ба (ru) f (bába)
• Sanskrit: (paternal) पितामही (sa) f (pitāmahī)
• Santali: ᱟᱡᱤ (aji)
• Scots: grandmither, guiddame
• Scottish Gaelic: seanmhair (gd) f
• Serbo-Croatian: baka (sh) f

  Cyrillic: баба f, нена f, старамајка f

  Roman: baba (sh) f, nena (sh) f, staramajka (sh) f

• Sicilian: nanna (scn) f, mamma granni f
• Shan: ၼၢႆး (shn) (náai)
• Skolt Sami: äkk
• Slovak: stará matka (sk) f, baba f
• Slovene: babica (sl) f, stara mama f
• Somali: ayeeyo (so)
• Sotho: nkgono
• Spanish: abuela (es) f
• Sundanese: nini (su)
• Swabian: Ahna f
• Swahili: bibi (sw)
• Swedish: farmor (sv) c (paternal), mormor (sv) c (maternal)
• Tagalog: lola (tl), impo, lelang, abwela
• Tajik: модаркалон (tg) (modarkalon), онакалон (onakalon)
• Tamil: பாட்டி (ta) (pāṭṭi)
• Tatar: әби (tt) (äbi), дәү әни (tt) (däü äni), зур әни (zur äni), картинәй (qartinäy), нәнә (nänä), нәнәй (nänäy)
• Thai: ย่า (th) (yâa) (paternal), ยาย (th) (yaai) (maternal)
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
• Tok Pisin: tumbuna
• Tupinambá: aryîa
• Turkish: büyükanne (tr), nine (tr)
• Turkmen: ene, mama
• Ukrainian: бабу́ся (uk) f (babúsja), ба́ба (uk) f (bába)
• Urdu: دادی‎ f (dādī), نانی‎ f (nānī) (maternal)
• Uzbek: acha (uz), buvi (uz)
• Vietnamese: bà (vi), bà ngoại (vi), bà nội (vi)
• Volapük: lemot (vo)
• Walloon: grand-mere f, grand-mame (wa) f
• Welsh: mam-gu (cy) f (South Wales), nain (cy) f (North Wales)
• West Frisian: beppe (fy) f
• White Hmong: pog, niam tais
• Wiradhuri: baadhin
• Wolof: marm
• Xhosa: umakhulu
• Yagara: barbang
• Yakut: эбэ (ebe)
• Yiddish: באָבע‎ f (bobe)
• Yoruba: iya agba
• Yámana: kuluna
• Zazaki: dada, dapir, dapér, daye (diq)
• Zhuang: buz (paternal), naih (paternal), daiq (maternal)
• Zulu: ukhulu

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} ava (ia)