Mammaw or Mamaw – Which Spelling Is Correct?

Have you ever heard someone saying the words “Mammaw” or “Mamaw” and wondered what they meant by it?

We want to know if “Mammaw” and “Mamaw” are valid words in the English language and if we can apply them to our conversations. Also, we want to know what they mean.

Mammaw or Mamaw – Which Spelling Is Correct?

“Mamaw” is part of the US southern English dialect. It’s a word used in the southern states of the US to indicate someone’s grandmother – and often specifically the maternal grandmother. This isn’t a word that’s commonly used, but it’s valid. “Mammaw” is an alternative form for the word “Mamaw”.

Take a look at the examples below:

• I’m visiting my mammaw today.
• I’m visiting my mamaw today.

“Mamaw” and “Mammaw” are probably affectionate alterations of “Mama”, which we assume is the origin of this word.

Also, in the Scottish lowlands, “Mamaw” can be used to refer to someone’s mother. It’d be an alteration of “ma maw”, that in one single word would become “Mamaw” and become part of people’s vocabulary.

The fact of the matter is that in both cases, as part of the US southern dialect or as part of the Scottish dialect, “Mamaw” and “Mammaw” are forms that are particular to those regions that the communities that live there.

We must be careful not to culturally appropriate form things that belong to communities that deserve respect and consideration. With that in mind, we recommend that you learn and memorize what those words mean, in case you ever hear someone using them.

But, at the same time, we also recommend that you avoid using those words yourself – unless you’re part of the communities that originally make use of those forms.

Mammaw

“Mammaw” is an alternate form of “Mamaw”, and is used in the southern US to refer to a grandmother, usually specifically maternal grandmother. This form can also be used in the Scottish lowlands to refer to someone’s mother.

Is “Mammaw” a word? Well, this is a tricky one to answer. The Cambridge Dictionary doesn’t recognize “Mammaw” as a word – if we look it up, all we get is a list of words that we could be misspelling “Mammaw” for.

However, we know that this word is used as part of the dialect in very specific regions and we can’t deny those individuals the validity of the words they use to communicate. With that in mind, we say that yes, “Mammaw” is a word, just not one that most of us would use commonly.

Take a look at some examples below:

1. How’s mammaw doing?
2. My mammaw is very old.
3. When is mammaw coming over?
4. Mammaw is a great cook.
5. Whenever mammaw comes over, we have a lot of fun.

Mamaw

“Mamaw” is part of dialects in some regions to indicate someone’s mother or grandmother. In the Scottish lowlands, “Mamaw” is used to refer to someone’s mother. In the southern states of the US, it’s used to indicate someone’s grandmother.

Is “Mamaw” a word? The Cambridge Dictionary, it’s not. But we believe that we should consider “Mamaw” to be a valid word because it’s part of people’s dialects, even if the dictionary doesn’t acknowledge it

Let’s look at some examples:

1. Mamaw is doing well.
2. My mamaw is moving in with me.
3. Mamaw is very sweet.
4. How is your mamaw doing?
5. Your mamaw is so kind!

Keep in mind, however, that because “Mamaw” and “Mammaw” are words that belong to very specific dialects, spoken by small communities, we must be careful not to culturally appropriate those words.

It’s important to know what they mean, but also to avoid using them irresponsibly, especially if you aren’t part of those communities.

Which Is Used the Most?

Which one of those forms is used more often, “Mamaw” or “Mammaw”? Take a look at the graph from Google Ngram Viewer below.

“Mamaw” is the most used word, which appears more frequently in people’s speeches. “Mammaw” is also relevant, but appears less often and isn’t used as much.

Final Thoughts

“Mamaw” is used as part of some English dialects, especially in the southern US and the Scottish lowlands. It can refer to someone’s grandmother (specifically the maternal grandmother) or mother, depending on the area. “Mammaw” is an alternative form for the word “Mamaw”, which is also valid.