From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Mother \Moth"er\, a.
Received by birth or from ancestors; native, natural; as,
mother language; also acting the part, or having the place of
a mother; producing others; originating.
[1913 Webster]
It is the mother falsehood from which all idolatry is
derived. --T. Arnold.
[1913 Webster]
{Mother cell} (Biol.), a cell which, by endogenous divisions,
gives rise to other cells (daughter cells); a parent cell.
{Mother church}, the original church; a church from which
other churches have sprung; as, the mother church of a
diocese.
{Mother country}, the country of one's parents or ancestors;
the country from which the people of a colony derive their
origin.
{Mother liquor} (Chem.), the impure or complex residual
solution which remains after the salts readily or
regularly crystallizing have been removed.
{Mother queen}, the mother of a reigning sovereign; a queen
mother.
{Mother tongue}.
(a) A language from which another language has had its
origin.
(b) The language of one's native land; native tongue.
{Mother water}. See {Mother liquor} (above).
{Mother wit}, natural or native wit or intelligence.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
mother wit
n 1: sound practical judgment; "Common sense is not so common";
"he hasn't got the sense God gave little green apples";
"fortunately she had the good sense to run away" [syn:
{common sense}, {good sense}, {gumption}, {horse sense},
{sense}, {mother wit}]
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