noun
Archaic poetic term for 'mother', found in classical Japanese poetry and literature. Not used in modern everyday speech; the common modern word is 母 (はは).
See also: 垂乳根
万葉集に「垂乳女の母が養ふ蚕の繭隠り」という歌がある。
In the Man'yōshū, there is a poem that goes, 'Like the silkworm cocooned in the care of its mother...'
The exact derivation is uncertain. The kanji 垂乳女 literally suggest 'hanging-breast woman', likely a poetic epithet for a nursing mother. The reading たらちめ may be related to 垂乳根 (たらちね), another archaic term for mother.