motherland

noun

moth·​er·​land ˈmə-t͟hər-ˌland How to pronounce motherland (audio)
1
2
: a country regarded as a place of origin (as of an idea or a movement)

Examples of motherland in a Sentence

for many oenophiles, France remains the motherland of fine wines all his life he longed to return to his motherland
Recent Examples on the Web England is the motherland of croquet, with Wimbledon founded in 1868 as the All England Croquet Club. Chris MacIas -, Sacramento Bee, 1 Feb. 2024 Very few of their assets have been confiscated by Western countries – and the Kremlin has given them a stark choice: support the motherland or lose everything. Tim Lister, CNN, 29 Jan. 2024 Like all nationalisms, with their call to blood, soil, and motherland, the Hindu nation of the RSS—and hence of Modi—was created by gross simplifications and manipulations of history. Hartosh Singh Bal, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2023 Our motherland must be reunified, and it will surely be reunified. Eryk Michael Smith, Fox News, 6 Jan. 2024 Morton’s trip to Africa shows his commitment to not only creating music, but also nurturing the young and burgeoning talent in the motherland. Ekow Barnes, Essence, 13 Nov. 2023 Her Diaspora Dialogues series first debuted in CDMX as a way to build bridges by bringing the L.A. lifestyle to the motherland. Kamren Curiel, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2023 Real-deal Tunisian harissa is an anchor to the motherland and a bright, specific accent to countless dishes. Eric Kim, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2023 Advertisement Their aim is to give Russian civilians a taste of the death and destruction that President Vladimir Putin’s war has wrought on Ukraine, and to show that Putin is failing to keep the Russian motherland safe. Pamela Constable, Washington Post, 17 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'motherland.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1565, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of motherland was in 1565

Dictionary Entries Near motherland

Cite this Entry

“Motherland.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/motherland. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

motherland

noun
moth·​er·​land ˈmət͟h-ər-ˌland How to pronounce motherland (audio)

More from Merriam-Webster on motherland

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