grandmamma

American  

[grand-muh-mah, gran-mah-muh, grand-, gram-] / ˈgrænd məˌmɑ, ˈgrænˌmɑ mə, ˈgrænd-, ˈgræm- /

noun

Informal.

1. grandmother.

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Usage

What does grandmamma mean? Grandmamma is an informal word for grandmother—the mother of a person’s parent. Grandmamma can also be spelled grandmama. Both words are much less common than grandma. The words mama and mamma are informal ways of saying mother and are much more commonly used. Grandmamma should be capitalized when it’s used as a proper name, as in Please tell Grandmamma that I miss her. But grandmamma does not need to be capitalized when it’s simply used as a way to refer to her, as in Please tell my grandmamma that I miss her. Example: It doesn’t matter what you call your grandmamma, as long as you call her.

Etymology

Origin of grandmamma

First recorded in 1740–50; grand- + mamma ¹

Example Sentences

With her are Maurice Chevalier, the perennial spirit of the boulevard himself, as Honore Lachaille; Louis Jourdan as his nephew, Gaston; and Isabel Jeans and Hermione Gingold as Gigi’s aunt and grandmamma, respectively.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2023

Wrote Jean Francis: "I would collect my grandmamma in my father's car, and we would set off to get away as far as possible."

From Time Magazine Archive

Every summer, Ma sent me down to Georgia to stay with my grandmamma for two months.

From "Monday's Not Coming" by Tiffany D. Jackson

She told me about her summer wedding and honeymoon trip she took with her wife to Europe, and I told her about spending the summer with my grandmamma.

From "Monday's Not Coming" by Tiffany D. Jackson

"You know your numbers, darling," said Nancy, "that grandmamma taught you."

From The Devourers by Chartres, Annie Vivanti