mamma

n. [ Reduplicated from the infantine word ma, influenced in spelling by L. mamma. ] Mother; -- word of tenderness and familiarity. [ Written also mama. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Tell tales papa and mamma. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Mammals [ L. mammalis belonging to the breast, fr. mamma the breast or pap: cf. F. mammal. ] (Zool.) One of the Mammalia. [ 1913 Webster ]

Age of mammals. See under Age, n., 8. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., from L. mammalis. See Mammal. ] (Zool.) The highest class of Vertebrata. The young are nourished for a time by milk, or an analogous fluid, secreted by the mammary glands of the mother. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Mammalia are divided into three subclasses; -- [ 1913 Webster ] I. Placentalia. This subclass embraces all the higher orders, including man. In these the fetus is attached to the uterus by a placenta. [ 1913 Webster ] II. Marsupialia. In these no placenta is formed, and the young, which are born at an early state of development, are carried for a time attached to the teats, and usually protected by a marsupial pouch. The opossum, kangaroo, wombat, and koala are examples. [ 1913 Webster ] III. Monotremata. In this group, which includes the genera Echidna and Ornithorhynchus, the female lays large eggs resembling those of a bird or lizard, and the young, which are hatched like those of birds, are nourished by a watery secretion from the imperfectly developed mammae. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to the Mammalia or mammals. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Mammal + -ferous. ] (Geol.) Containing mammalian remains; -- said of certain strata. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to mammalogy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. mammalogiste. ] One versed in mammalogy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Mamma breast + -logy: cf. f. mammalogie. ] The science which relates to mammals or the Mammalia. See Mammalia. [ 1913 Webster ]