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mother of all. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
mother of all, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
mother of all in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
mother of all you have here. The definition of the word
mother of all will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
mother of all, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
Calque of Arabic أُمّ (ʔumm, “mother (of)”). Popularized and given its current sense by Saddam Hussein's claim that the impending Gulf War would be the أُمّ المَعَارِك (ʔumm al-maʕārik, “mother of (all) battles”), though mother had long been used in somewhat similar senses in English, and other familial terms are used with the same meaning, like granddaddy (of all traffic jams) and father (of all battles).
Phrase
mother of all —
- (colloquial) Used before a plural noun to form a compound noun having the sense of: the greatest or largest of (its kind); the most epic example of (its kind).
- Synonyms: father of all, granddaddy of all, grandmammy of all (etc)
2003 December 26, “2003 Movie Guide”, in Christian Science Monitor:Driving to a dinner engagement, a Parisian woman gets stuck in the mother of all traffic jams, offers a ride to a handsome pedestrian, and enters a fleeting affair that catches both of them by surprise.
2006, Jean Chatzky, “Get the Scoop”, in Money, vol. 35.8:Five mail-order ice creams. Four pregnant women. Welcome to the mother of all taste tests.
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