allomother
verbEtymology From allo- + mother.
1
To provide maternal care for another creature's young.
allomother
nounUK /ˈæləˌmʌðə(ɹ)/ · US /ˈæləˌmʌðɚ/
Etymology From allo- + mother.
1
Biology, Natural sciences, Zoology A human or other creature that provides some maternal care for the young born of another.
- Within hours of birth, baby langurs are spirited away from their mothers. They spend up to 50 percent of daylight hours passed from allomother to allomother2000, Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, Mother Nature: Maternal Instincts and how They Shape the Human Species, page 162:
- Among the !Kung foragers of the Kalahari, babies are held by a father, grandmother, older sibling or some other allomother maybe 25 percent of the time.2009 March 3, Natalie Angier, “In a Helpless Baby, the Roots of Our Social Glue”, in New York Times:
- Synonyms
- othermother
- Related terms
- allomaternal