maters

maters pronunciation

/MAY-terz/

Meaning

Everyday Southern and Appalachian word for tomatoes. Folks drop the front of "tomatoes" the same way they say taters for potatoes. You hear it at the garden fence, the farmers market, and anywhere somebody is bragging on a ripe red one for a sandwich.

How folks use it

• “We're swimming in maters this year. Take a bag home.”
• “Nothing beats a mater sandwich with salt and mayo.”

Origin and etymology

Clipping of a dialect pronunciation of tomato (sometimes written tomater). Appalachian and Southern speakers often drop the first unstressed syllable, so tomatoes become maters, just like potatoes become taters. Dialect Notes and later field studies recorded forms like that by the late 1800s. It stuck as plain porch talk, not fancy grocery-store speech.

Frequently asked questions