WordWeb Online

1. The quality of having or showing the tenderness and warmth and affection of or befitting a mother
   "the girl's maternalism made her invaluable in caring for the children";
   - motherliness, maternal quality, maternity
    
2. Motherly care; behaviour characteristic of a mother; the practice of acting as a mother does toward her children

See also: maternal

Type of: aid, attention, care, parental quality, tending

Encyclopedia: Maternalism