• adj. 母亲的；母性的；母系的；母体遗传的

来自拉丁语maturnus,母亲的，来自mater,母亲，词源同mother.

maternal

maternal: [15] Maternal and maternity [17] are the central English representatives of the Romance-language branch of the great Indo- European ‘mother’ word-family. Both go back to Latin māter ‘mother’ (source of French mère and Italian and Spanish madre), whose derived adjective māternus reached English via Old French maternel. Other English words that come ultimately from māter include material and matter, matrix [16] (from which also come madrigal and matriculate [16], etymologically ‘enter on a matrix or list’), and matrimony [14].
=> mother

maternal (adj.)

late 15c., from Old French maternel (14c.), from Vulgar Latin *maternalis, from Latin maternus "maternal, of a mother," from mater "mother" (see mother (n.1)).

1. I didn't have as strong a maternal instinct as some other mothers.

我不像别的母亲那样有那么强烈的母性本能。

来自柯林斯例句

2. She had little maternal instinct.

她缺乏母性。

来自柯林斯例句

3. Her feelings towards him were almost maternal.

她对他的感情是近乎母亲般的。

来自柯林斯例句

4. Her maternal grandfather was Mayor of Karachi.

她的外公是卡拉奇市的市长。

来自柯林斯例句

5. I'm not very maternal.

我不太像个母亲。

来自《权威词典》