Mother Hubbard

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word Mother Hubbard. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word Mother Hubbard, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say Mother Hubbard in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word Mother Hubbard you have here. The definition of the word Mother Hubbard will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofMother Hubbard, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
Tahitian girls in their unadorned Mother Hubbards between 1880 and 1889.

Etymology

From "Old Mother Hubbard", a nursery rhyme.

Noun

Mother Hubbard (plural Mother Hubbards)

  1. (fashion) A long, wide, loose gown with long sleeves and a high neck originally introduced by Christian missionaries as an adaptation of 19th-century European fashion to Polynesia but subsequently inclusive of lighter and more colorful variations.
    • 1919, W Somerset Maugham, “chapter 49”, in The Moon and Sixpence, : Grosset & Dunlap Publishers , →OCLC:
      Her arms were like legs of mutton, her breasts like giant cabbages; her face, broad and fleshy, gave you an impression of almost indecent nakedness, and vast chin succeeded to vast chin. I do not know how many of them there were. They fell away voluminously into the capaciousness of her bosom. She was dressed usually in a pink Mother Hubbard, and she wore all day long a large straw hat.

Synonyms

Translations

Adjective

Mother Hubbard (comparative more Mother Hubbard, superlative most Mother Hubbard)

  1. (colloquial) Empty
    • 2012, Cecil Castellucci, Beige‎, page 24:
      "Other than my earthquake kit, the cupboards are looking pretty Mother Hubbard. We can go to the Farmers Market and get some produce."
    • 2013, Colum McCann, TransAtlantic‎:
      "It's a bit Mother Hubbard, I'm afraid.'" We made our way through the empty house.
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia