Metheg-ammah

[Easton] Bridle of the mother, a figurative name for a chief city, as in 2 Sam. 8:1, “David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines” (R.V., “took the bridle of the mother-city”); i.e., subdued their capital or strongest city, viz., Gath (1 Chr. 18:1). [Smith] (bridle of the metropolis), a place which David took from the Philistines, apparently in his last war with them. (2 Samuel 8:1) Ammah may be taken as meaning “mother-city” or “metropolis,” comp. (2 Samuel 20:19) and Metheg-he-Ammah “the bridle of the mother-city”—viz. of Gath, the chief town of the Philistines. [Hitchcock] bridle of bondage [Nave] –A place in Philistia 2Sa 8:1 [Theographic] Bridle of the mother, a figurative name for a chief city, as in 2 Sam. 8:1, “David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines” (R.V., “took the bridle of the mother-city”); i.e., subdued their capital or strongest city, viz., Gath (1 Chr. 18:1).