In African American English (AAVE), 'big mama' is a warm, respectful term for a grandmother — especially the matriarch of a family, someone whose size, authority, and centrality to family life earn the title. The 'big' element conveys importance and presence rather than necessarily physical size. Big mama figures prominently in African American cultural life and literature as an archetype of family strength and nurturing authority.
Every Sunday the whole family showed up at big mama's house without being asked.
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(AAVE) A grandmother.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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