This adjective means motherless or without known mother. In Hebrews 7:3, Melchizedek is described as 'without mother' (along with without father or genealogy), emphasizing his mysterious origins. Classical Greek used it literally for motherless persons and metaphorically for unnatural situations. The multilingual glosses (Spanish 'sin-madre', German 'ohne-Mutter') indicate literal absence of mother. The author's point isn't biological but typological: Genesis's silence about Melchizedek's ancestry makes him resemble the eternal Son, priesthood not dependent on lineage.