See also: matèrnité French Etymology From Latin maternitātem, from māter (“mother”). Pronunciation IPA(key): /ma.tɛʁ.ni.te/ Noun maternité f (plural maternités) maternity, motherhood pregnancy maternity ward (in a hospital) Derived terms congé de maternité See also paternité sororité fraternité Further reading “maternité”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012. Anagrams MarinetteWikiwand - on Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.