| baby mama Oct 5th 2013, 05:04, by Nbarth | | | | Line 19: | Line 19: | | | | | | | | ====Usage notes==== | | ====Usage notes==== | | − | Contentious usage – sometimes used neutrally as a casual term, regardless of marriage status, particularly in the tabloid press,<ref name=slate>[http://www.slate.com/id/2141083/ Where Do "Baby-Daddies" Come From? The origins of the phrase.] by Julia Turner, ''[[w:Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'', posted Sunday, May 7, 2006.</ref> or as a term of endearment. Often considered pejorative, particularly if applied to unmarried black parents – if used by one parent of the other, can imply "child in common but no meaningful relationship", while if used by outsiders, can imply disapproval of children born out of wedlock; see [[Citations:baby mama|citations]].<ref>"[http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/was-it-a-slur/ Was It a Slur?]", by Tobin Harshaw, ''New York Times,'' June 12, 2008</ref> More formal variants include "baby's mama" and "baby's mother". Similar considerations apply to {{term|baby daddy|lang=en}}. | + | Contentious usage – sometimes used neutrally as a casual term, regardless of marriage status, particularly in the tabloid press,<ref name=slate>[http://www.slate.com/id/2141083/ Where Do "Baby-Daddies" Come From? The origins of the phrase.] by Julia Turner, ''[[w:Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'', posted Sunday, May 7, 2006.</ref> or as a term of endearment. Often considered pejorative, particularly if applied to unmarried black parents – if used by one parent of the other, can imply "child in common but no meaningful relationship", while if used by outsiders, can imply disapproval of children born out of wedlock; see [[Citations:baby mama|citations]].<ref>"[http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/was-it-a-slur/ Was It a Slur?]", by Tobin Harshaw, ''New York Times,'' June 12, 2008</ref> More formal variants include "baby's mama" and "baby's mother"; in formal usage "mother of one's child" is preferred. Similar considerations apply to {{term|baby daddy|lang=en}}. | | | | | | | | ====Related terms==== | | ====Related terms==== |
Latest revision as of 05:04, 5 October 2013 English[edit] Wikipedia Alternative forms[edit] Etymology[edit] African American Vernacular English (General American would be baby's mama), popularized 2000s.[1] Possibly from or influenced by same term in Jamaican English, from Jamaican Creole baby-mother ("pregnant woman") (1966),[2] alternatively due simply to grammatical similarities between AAVE and Jamaican Creole.[1] baby mama (plural baby mamas) - (US, slang) Mother of child in common, particularly unmarried.
- 2008, Ebony Vol. 63, No. 8, Sidestepping Baby Mama Drama - Jun 2008, page 154
- For men who must deal with these situations and others like them, the result is what has now been deemed as "baby-mama drama."
- She's not his girlfriend now, but she's one of his baby mamas.
Usage notes[edit] Contentious usage – sometimes used neutrally as a casual term, regardless of marriage status, particularly in the tabloid press,[2] or as a term of endearment. Often considered pejorative, particularly if applied to unmarried black parents – if used by one parent of the other, can imply "child in common but no meaningful relationship", while if used by outsiders, can imply disapproval of children born out of wedlock; see citations.[3] More formal variants include "baby's mama" and "baby's mother"; in formal usage "mother of one's child" is preferred. Similar considerations apply to baby daddy. Related terms[edit] Quotations[edit] References[edit] - ↑ 1.01.1 on Language Log, December 10, 2008
- ↑ 2.02.1 Where Do "Baby-Daddies" Come From? The origins of the phrase. by Julia Turner, Slate, posted Sunday, May 7, 2006.
- ^ "Was It a Slur?", by Tobin Harshaw, New York Times, June 12, 2008
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