maternels

Maternels is the masculine plural form of the French adjective maternel, meaning related to the mother or motherhood. It is used to describe things associated with mothers in masculine noun contexts. The feminine forms are maternelle (singular) and maternelles (plural). Common examples include liens maternels (maternal ties) and instincts maternels (maternal instincts). In general, maternel agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies.

Etymology traces maternel to the Latin mater, meaning mother, through Old French. The term has cognates in other Romance languages and corresponds to the English adjective maternal in meaning.

In English, the form maternels is not standard; the corresponding adjective is maternal. The French word and its inflected forms appear in bilingual texts or linguistic discussions to illustrate gender and number agreement, and to show how kinship-related adjectives function in French syntax.

Related terms include maternel, maternelle, maternal, and concepts such as maternity and matrilineal. In French linguistics and anthropology, maternel is used when describing mother-related aspects of social roles, kinship, or behavior, while maintaining grammatical agreement with the noun it modifies.