LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

mātertera

mātertera f (genitive māterterae)
Classical[maːˈtɛr.tɛ.ra]Ecclesiastical[maˈtɛr.te.ra]

Meaning

  1. maternal aunt

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativemāterteramāterterae
genitivemāterteraemāterterārum
dativemāterteraemāterterīs
accusativemāterterammāterterās
ablativemāterterāmāterterīs
vocativemāterteramāterterae

mātertĕra, ae, f. for materitera, mater and an obsol. fem. noun found in neutr. i-terum; cf. al-tera, a second mother,
I. a mother's sister, an aunt by the mother's side: amita est patris soror: matertera est matris soror, Dig. 38, 10, 10, § 4; cf. ib. § 5: mea matertera (anulum gestitavit), Plaut. Curc. 5, 2, 4; Cic. Div. 1, 46, 104; id. de Or. 2, 1, 2; Ov. M. 3, 312: materteram uxorem ducere non licet, Gai. Inst. 1, 62; Mos. et Rom. Leg. Coll. 6, 2, 2.—
II. Esp.
A. Magna, i. e. aviae soror, Dig. 38, 10, 1, § 15; cf.: matertera patris et matris, mihi magna matertera est, Paul. ex Fest. p. 136 Müll. —
B. Major, i. e. soror proaviae, Dig. 38, 10, 1, § 16.—
C. Maxima, i. e. abaviae soror, Dig. 38, 10, 1, § 17.

Origins

From māter (“mother”) and the contrastive suffix *-teros which is also found in magister and minister.

In English words that came into English from mātertera

  • materteralmātertera

Quick answers

What does mātertera mean in Latin?
mātertera, a noun, means “maternal aunt”.
What is the genitive of mātertera?
The genitive singular is māterterae. mātertera is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce mātertera?
In classical Latin, [maːˈtɛr.tɛ.ra]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [maˈtɛr.te.ra].