baby mama

A baby mama (or baby momma, also baby mother) is a slang term for a mother who is not married to her child's father, although the term often carries other connotations as well. This term is associated with African Americans originally, coming from Jamaican Creole and finding its way into hip-hop music. The equivalent term for a male is baby daddy (or baby father), but it is not used as frequently. Origin The term originated in Jamaican Creole as "baby-mother" (pronounced ), with the first printed usage appearing in the Kingston newspaper, The Daily Gleaner in 1966.<ref name="patrick">Patrick, Peter L. (1995). "Some Recent Jamaican Creole Words" . American Speech, 70(3), 227–64. Retrieved December 12, 2006.</ref> Another Daily Gleaner use dates from November 21, 1989. Originally, the term was used by the fathers of illegitimate children to describe the mothers of their children. The term is now in general use to describe any single mother. Peter L. Patrick, a linguistics professor who studies Jamaican English, has said (of the terms baby mother and baby father), "[they] definitely imply there is not a marriage—not even a common-law marriage, but rather that the child is an 'outside' child". Since entering currency in U.S. tabloids, the terms have even begun to be applied to married and engaged celebrities.