The term **大妈** is formed through the compounding of two characters: **大** (*dà*), meaning "big" or "senior," and **妈** (*mā*), meaning "mother." It functions as a nominal compound where "大" does not refer to physical size but to seniority or age, and "妈" extends from its core meaning of "mother" to denote a married woman. Thus, the compound literally means "big mother" or "senior mother," and it has semantically specialized to commonly refer to an older, often middle-aged married woman, typically within a community or family context. In recent decades, its usage has expanded into broader social and sometimes media contexts (e.g., the "Chinese dama" referring to groups of retail investors), but it retains its core meaning of an auntie or matronly figure.