Motherliness is the quality — the loving, looking-after warmth we picture in a good mother. You use motherly for the person or the act (a motherly hug); motherliness is the thing itself, the way of being. It does not belong only to women who have children: people talk about someone’s motherliness when that person cares, feeds, worries, and makes a room feel safe, whether they are a mother or not. It is a soft, slightly old-fashioned word; in everyday talk you are more likely to hear “she’s so motherly” than “her motherliness.” Though actually, “like a good mother” is already a story we tell. Real mothers are not always gentle, and motherliness names the ideal, not every mother.