King James Bible Dictionary

Heb. ash, from a root meaning "to fall away," as moth-eaten garments fall to pieces (Job 4:19; 13:28; Isaiah 50:9; 51:8; Hosea 5:12).

Gr. ses, thus rendered in Matthew 6:19, 20; Luke 12:33. Allusion is thus made to the destruction of clothing by the larvae of the clothes-moth. This is the only lepidopterous insect referred to in Scripture.

An insect
Job 4:19; Job 27:18; Psalms 39:11

Destructive of garments
Job 13:28; Isaiah 50:9; Isaiah 51:8; Hosea 5:12

Figurative
Matthew 6:19-20; James 5:2

By the Hebrew word we are certainly to understand some species of clothes-moth (tinea). Reference to the destructive habits of the clothes-moth is made in (Job 4:19; 13:28; Psalms 39:11) etc. (The moth is a well-known insect which in its caterpillar state is very destructive to woollen clothing, furs, etc. The egg of the moth, being deposited on the fur or cloth, produces a very small shining insect, which immediately forms a house for itself by cuttings from the cloth. It east away the nap, and finally ruins the fabric. There are more than 1500 species of moths.

McClintock and Strong's Cyclopedia.)

MOTH, noun

1. An animal of the genus Phalaena, which breeds in yard and garments, and often does injury by eating the substance and destroying the texture. Matthew 6:19.

The name is also applied to the whole genus.

2. Figuratively, that which gradually and silently eats, consumes or wastes any thing. Idle persons are a moth to the community.

MOTH'EAT, verb transitive [moth and eat.] To eat or prey upon, as a moth eats a garment.

MOTH'EATEN, adjective Eaten by moths. Job 13:1.

MOTH'EN, adjective Full of moths. [Not in use.]

General references
Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16; Matthew 19:19; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20; Ephesians 6:2; Exodus 21:15; Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 18:7; Leviticus 19:3; Leviticus 20:9; 1 Kings 19:20; Proverbs 1:8; Proverbs 6:20; Proverbs 10:1; Proverbs 15:20; Proverbs 19:26; Proverbs 20:20; Proverbs 23:22-25; Proverbs 28:24; Proverbs 29:15; Proverbs 30:11; Proverbs 30:17; Matthew 10:37; Matthew 15:4-6; Mark 7:10-12; 2 Timothy 1:5
Children, Commandments to; Parents

The superiority of the Hebrew over all contemporaneous systems of legislation and of morals is strongly shown in the higher estimation of the mother in the Jewish family, as contrasted with modern Oriental as well as ancient Oriental and classical usage. The king's mother, as appears in the case of Bath-sheba, was treated with special honor. (Exodus 20:12; Leviticus 19:3; 5:16; 21:18,21; 1 Kings 2:29; Proverbs 10:1; 15:20; 17:25; 29:15; 31:1,30)

MOTHER, noun [Latin mater, mother; matrix, the womb; materia, matter, stuff, materials of which any thing is made. We observe that in some other languages, as well as in English, the same word signifies a female parent, and the thick slime formed in vinegar; and in all the languages of Europe here cited, the orthography is nearly the same as that of mud and matter. The question then occurs whether the name of a female parent originated in a word expressing matter, mold; either the soil of the earth, as the producer, or the like substance, when shaped and fitted as a mold for castings; or whether the name is connected with the opinion that the earth is the mother of all productions; whence the word mother-earth. We are informed by a fragment of Sanchoniathon, that the ancient Phenicians considered mud to be the substance from which all things were formed. See Mud. The word matter is evidently from the Ar. madda, to secrete, eject or discharge a purulent substance; and I think cannot have any direct connection with mud. But in the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, the same word madre signified mother and a mold for castings; and the northern languages, particularly the German and Danish, seem to establish the fact that the proper sense of mother is matrix. Hence mother of pearl, the matrix of pearl. If this word had its origin in the name of the earth used for the forms of castings, it would not be a singular fact; for our word mold, in this sense, I suppose to be so named from mold, fine earth. The question remains sub judice.]

1. A female parent; especially, one of the human race; a woman who has borne a child; correlative to son or daughter.

2. That which has produced any thing.

Alas, poor country! it cannot

Be called our mother but our grave.

So our native land is called mother country, and a plant from which a slip or cion is taken, is called the mother plant. In this use, mother may be considered as an adjective.

3. That which has preceded in time; the oldest or chief of any thing; as a mother-church.

4. Hysterical passion. [Not used.]

5. A familiar term of address or appellation of an old woman or matron.

6. An appellation given to a woman who exercises care and tenderness towards another, or gives parental advice; as when one says, ' a woman has been a mother to me.'

7. A thick slimy substance concreted in liquors, particularly in vinegar, very different from scum or common lees.

MOTHER of pearl, noun The matrix of pearl; the shell in which pearls are generated; a species of Mytilus or Mussel.

MOTHER of thyme, noun A plant of the genus Thymus.

MOTHER, adjective Native; natural; received by birth; as mother-wit.

1. Native; vernacular; received from parents or ancestors; as mother-tongue.

MOTHER, verb intransitive To concrete, as the thick matter of liquors.

MOTHER, verb transitive To adopt as a son or daughter.

MOTHERHOOD, noun The state of being a mother.

General references
Matthew 10:35

Not to be defiled
Leviticus 18:17; Leviticus 20:14; Deuteronomy 27:23

Beloved by Ruth
Ruth 1:14-17

Peter's, healed by Jesus
Mark 1:30-31

MOTHER-IN-LAW, noun The mother of a husband or wife.

MOTHERLESS, adjective Destitute of a mother; having lost a mother; as motherless children.

MOTHERLY, adjective Pertaining to a mother; as motherly power or authority.

1. Becoming a mother; tender; parental; as motherly love or care.

MOTHERLY, adverb In the manner of a mother.

MOTHER-WATER, noun A fluid remaining after the evaporation of salt water, and containing deliquescent salts and impurities.

MOTHER-WIT, noun Native wit; common sense.

MOTHER-WORT, noun A plant of the genus Leonurus.

MOTHERY, adjective Concreted; resembling or partaking of the nature of mother; as the mothery substance in liquors.

MOTH'MULLEN, noun A plant.

MOTH'WORT, noun A plant.

MOTH'Y, adjective [from moth.] Full of moths; as an old mothy saddle.