Origin and history of matrix

"female parent, a woman in relation to her child," Middle English moder, from Old English modor, from Proto-Germanic *mōdēr (source also of Old Saxon modar, Old Frisian moder, Old Norse moðir, Danish moder, Dutch moeder, Old High German muoter, German Mutter), from PIE *mater- "mother" (source also of Latin māter, Old Irish mathir, Lithuanian motė, Sanskrit matar-, Greek mētēr, Old Church Slavonic mati). Watkins writes that this is "[b]ased ultimately on the baby-talk form *mā- (2); with the kinship term suffix *-ter-." The spelling with -th- dates from early 16c., though that pronunciation is probably older (compare father (n.)).

The sense of "that which has given birth to anything" is from late Old English; as a familiar term of address to an elderly woman, especially of the lower class, by c. 1200.

Mother Nature as a personification is attested from 1550s (in a translation of More's Utopia); mother earth as an expression of the earth as the giver of life is from 1580s. Mother tongue "one's native language" is attested from late 14c. Mother country "a country in relation to its colonies" is from 1580s. Mother-love "such affection as is shown by a mother" is by 1854. Mother-wit "native wit, common sense" is from mid-15c.

Mother of all ________ (1991), is Gulf War slang, from Saddam Hussein's use in reference to the coming battle; it is an Arabic idiom (as well as an English one); Ayesha, second wife of Muhammad, is known as Mother of Believers; the figure is attested in English in 19c. (Virginia is called mother of commonwealths from 1849). Mother Carey's chickens is late 18c. sailors' nickname for storm petrels, or for snowflakes.

"short love poem," especially one suitable for music, also "part-song for three or more voices," 1580s, from Italian madrigale, which is of uncertain origin; probably from Venetian dialect madregal "simple, ingenuous," from Late Latin matricalis "invented, original," literally "of or from the womb," from matrix (genitive matricis) "womb" (see matrix).

1570s, "insert (a name) in a register or official list," especially "to admit (a student) to a college by enrolling his name on the register," from Late Latin matriculatus, past participle of matriculare "to register," from Latin mātricula "public register," diminutive of mātrix (genitive mātricis) "list, roll," also "sources, womb" (see matrix).

The two senses in the Latin word at least partly seem to come via confusion of Greek mētra "womb" (from mētēr "mother;" see mother (n.1)) and an identical but different Greek word mētra meaning "register, lot" (see meter (n.2)). Evidently Latin mātrix was used to translate both, though it originally shared meaning with only one.

In English, the intransitive sense of "to be entered as a member of a university or college, to become a member of a body or society" is attested by 1851. The word also is attested from late 16c. in English as "to adopt as a child; to naturalize," involving the other sense of the Latin word, but these meanings now are obsolete. A list or register of persons belonging to an order, society, etc. was a matricula (1550s), from a diminutive of Latin mātrix. Related: Matriculated; matriculating.