mar

English Online Dictionary. What means mar‎? What does mar mean?

Translingual

Symbol

mar

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Marathi.

See also

• Wiktionary's coverage of Marathi terms

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /mɑː(ɹ)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /mɑɹ/, [mɑɹ], [mɑ˞]
• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: mar

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle English merren, from Old English mierran (“to mar, disturb, confuse; scatter, squander, waste; upset, hinder, obstruct; err”), from Proto-Germanic *marzijaną (“to disturb, hinder”), from Proto-Indo-European *mers- (“to annoy, disturb, neglect, forget, ignore”). Cognate with Scots mer, mar (“to obstruct, impede, spoil, ruin”), Dutch marren (“to push along, delay, hinder”), dialectal German merren (“to entangle”), Icelandic merja (“to bruise, crush”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐍂𐌶𐌾𐌰𐌽 (marzjan, “to annoy, bother, disturb, offend”), Lithuanian miršti (“to forget, lose, become oblivious, die”), Armenian մոռանալ (moṙanal, “to forget, fail”), Sanskrit मृष् (mṛṣ, “forget, neglect”).

Alternative forms

• marre (obsolete)

Verb

mar (third-person singular simple present mars, present participle marring, simple past and past participle marred)

1. (transitive) To spoil; to ruin; to scathe; to damage.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

mar (plural mars)

1. A blemish.

Derived terms

• marless

Etymology 2

See mere. Doublet of mare and mere.

(1175) « shallow and stagnating little body of water » from old norrois marr (« see, lake »), similar to old Saxon meri, from ancient German meri, German Meer, Anglo-Saxon mere (« swamp ; lake »).

Noun

mar (plural mars)

1. A small lake.

Etymology 3

See mayor.

Noun

mar (plural mars)

1. (obsolete) Alternative form of mayor and mair.

References

• “mar”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• AMR, ARM, Arm, Arm., MRA, RAM, RMA, Ram, arm, ram

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mar/

Adverb

mar

1. (colloquial, dialectal) Alternative form of maar

Conjunction

mar

1. (colloquial, dialectal) Alternative form of maar

Ambonese Malay

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch maar.

Conjunction

mar

1. but

References

• D. Takaria, C. Pieter (1998) Kamus Bahasa Melayu Ambon-Indonesia‎^[4], Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa

Aragonese

Etymology

Inherited from Latin mare

Noun

mar m (plural mars)

1. sea

References

• Bal Palazios, Santiago (2002) “mar”, in Dizionario breu de a luenga aragonesa, Zaragoza, →ISBN

Asturian

Etymology

Inherited from Latin mare.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaɾ/ [ˈmaɾ]

Noun

mar m or f (plural mares)

1. sea (body of water)

Bourguignon

Etymology

Inherited from Latin mare.

Noun

mar f (plural mars)

1. sea

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Old Catalan mar, from Latin mare (“sea”), from Proto-Italic *mari, from Proto-Indo-European *móri.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈmar]
• Homophones: ma, mà
• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)
• Hyphenation: mar

Noun

mar m or f (plural mars)

1. sea

Derived terms

Related terms

References

• “mar” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “mar”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “mar” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “mar” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Chavacano

Etymology

Inherited from Spanish mar (“sea”).

Noun

mar

1. sea

Finnish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑr/, [ˈmɑ̝r]
• Rhymes: -ɑr
• Hyphenation^(key): mar

Interjection

mar

1. Alternative form of maar.

Further reading

• “mar”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[5] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03

Galician

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese mar, from Latin mare. Compare Portuguese mar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaɾ/

Noun

mar m (plural mares)

1. sea
2. swell

   Hoxe non saímos que hai moito mar ― Today we are not going, there is too much swell

3. (figuratively) sea; vast number or quantity

   Synonyms: monte, mundo, chea

Derived terms

Related terms

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “mar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “mar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “mar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “mar”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology

Derived from Portuguese mar. Cognate with Kabuverdianu már.

Noun

mar

1. sea

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmɒr]
• Rhymes: -ɒr

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Uralic *mura-, (*murɜ) (“bit, crumb; crumble, crack”).

Verb

mar

2. (ambitransitive) to bite (of animals, chiefly snakes, sometimes

dogs or chinches; used either with -t/-ot/-at/-et/-öt or with -ba/-be)

1. Synonyms: harap, tép

2. (ambitransitive) to bite, to burn (of acid)

   Synonym: roncsol

Conjugation

Derived terms

(With verbal prefixes):

Etymology 2

Noun

mar (uncountable)

2. withers (the protruding part of a four-legged animal between the neck and the backbone)

Declension

Derived terms

• marmagasság

References

Further reading

• (to bite): mar in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• (withers): mar in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Iban

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mar/

Adjective

mar

1. expensive

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaːr/

  Rhymes: -aːr

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Norse marr, from Proto-Germanic *marhaz.

Noun

mar m (genitive singular mars, nominative plural marar or marir)

1. (poetic) horse

Declension

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Norse marr, from Proto-Germanic *mari.

Noun

mar m (genitive singular marar, no plural)

1. (poetic) the sea

Declension

Etymology 3

First attested at the end of the 18th century. Related to merja (“to crush, bruise”).

Noun

mar n (genitive singular mars, no plural)

1. bruise, contusion

Declension

References

• Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989) “mar”, in Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)

Interlingua

Noun

mar (plural mares)

1. sea

Irish

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /ˈmˠɑɾˠ/
• (Connacht, Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈmˠaɾˠ/, (unstressed) /ˈmˠəɾˠ/

Etymology 1

Derived from Old Irish immar.

Conjunction

mar

1. because

   Synonyms: óir, toisc go, arae, de bhrí go

2. as

Derived terms

Preposition

mar (plus dative, triggers lenition)

1. like
2. as

Synonyms

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “immar”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “mar”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

Etymology 2

Possibly from Middle Irish i mbaile (“where”) from Old Irish baile (“place”), probably contaminated by mar (“as, like”) or with dissimilation in forms like early modern a mbail a bhfuil, cognate with Scottish Gaelic far (“where”), compare Old Irish fail (“where”).

Adverb

mar

1. where (relative, not interrogative, followed by indirect relative)

Further reading

• R. A. Breatnach (1973) “The relative adverb mar a”, in Celtica, volume 10, pages 167–170
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “2 fail”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 baile”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “? 1 bail”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

References

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmar/
• Rhymes: -ar
• Hyphenation: màr

Noun

mar m (apocopated)

1. Apocopic form of mare (“sea”) (used in poetry and in names of some seas)

Derived terms

Kabuverdianu

Etymology

Derived from Portuguese mar.

Noun

mar

1. sea
2. ocean

References

• Gonçalves, Manuel (2015) Capeverdean Creole-English dictionary, →ISBN

Ladino

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish mar (“sea”), from Latin mare (“sea”), from Proto-Italic *mari, from Proto-Indo-European *móri.

Noun

mar f (Hebrew spelling מאר)

1. sea (a large body of salt water)

References

Lombard

Etymology

Akin to Italian mare, from Latin.

Noun

mar

1. sea

Maltese

Etymology

Inherited from Arabic مَارَ (māra, “to budge, to move forth, to fluctuate, to undergo commotion”) in form, influenced by Arabic مَرَّ (marra, “to pass”) in meaning.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maːr/
• Rhymes: -aːr

Verb

mar (imperfect jmur, verbal noun mawra or mawrien)

1. to go

Conjugation

• Note: Predominantly conjugated like a hollow root, but the original gemination surfaces prevocalically, i.e. in the plural imperfect as well as the third-person feminine and plural

Marshallese

Pronunciation

• (phonetic) IPA^(key): [mʲɑrˠ]
• (phonemic) IPA^(key): /mʲærˠ/
• Bender phonemes:

Noun

mar

1. a bush
2. a shrub
3. a boondock
4. a thicket

References

• Marshallese–English Online Dictionary

Norman

Alternative forms

• mare (continental Normandy, Guernsey)
• mathe (Jersey)

Etymology

Inherited from Old French mare.

Noun

mar f (plural mars)

1. (Sark) pool

Northern Kurdish

Noun

mar m

1. snake
2. marriage

Occitan

Etymology

Inherited from Old Occitan mar, from Latin mare.

Pronunciation

Noun

mar f (plural mars)

1. sea (large body of water)

Derived terms

• liri de mar

Old French

Adjective

mar m (oblique and nominative feminine singular mare)

1. Alternative form of mare

Adverb

mar

1. Alternative form of mare

Old Galician-Portuguese

Alternative forms

• mare

Etymology

Inherited from Latin mare (“sea”), from Proto-Indo-European *móri (“sea”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaɾ/

Noun

mar m (plural mars)

1. sea
   • 13th century, Vindel manuscript, Martín Codax, Mia irmana fremosa, treides comigo (facsimile)

Descendants

• Galician: mar m
• Portuguese: mar m (see there for further descendants)

Further reading

• Universo Cantigas - "mar ~ mare"

Old Norse

Noun

mar

1. accusative/dative singular of marr

Old Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin mare (“sea”), from Proto-Indo-European *móri (“sea”).

Noun

mar f

1. sea (a large body of salt water)

Descendants

• Ladino: mar, מאר
• Spanish: mar

References

• Ralph Steele Boggs et al. (1946) “mar”, in Tentative Dictionary of Medieval Spanish, volume II, Chapel Hill, page 326

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmar/
• Rhymes: -ar
• Syllabification: mar

Noun

mar f

1. genitive plural of mara

Portuguese

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese mar (“sea”), from Latin mare (“sea”), from Proto-Italic *mari, from Proto-Indo-European *móri. Compare Galician mar.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: (Portugal, São Paulo) -aɾ, (Brazil) -aʁ
• Homophone: mal (Caipira Brazil)
• Hyphenation: mar

Noun

mar m (plural mares)

1. sea
2. (planetology) mare

   Synonym: mare

3. (figurative) a multitude; a great amount or number of things

   um mar de possibilidades ― a multitude of possibilities

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• Kabuverdianu: mar, már

Etymology 2

Adverb

mar

1. Eye dialect spelling of mal, representing Caipira Portuguese.

Romansch

Alternative forms

• mer (Puter)

Etymology

Inherited from Latin mare, from Proto-Indo-European *móri.

Noun

mar f (plural mars)

1. (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran) sea

Noun

mar m (plural mars)

1. (Vallader) sea

Satawalese

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Oceanic *mara (“to spoil, to go foul [of food]” – compare with Tongan mā “breadfruit preserve, Western bread”, Maori mara “food preserved by steeping in water”, Samoan mala “soft [of food]” and Fijian mara “stench of a corpse”).

Noun

mar

1. preserve of fermented breadfruit stored in pits prior

References

Scottish Gaelic

Alternative forms

• (Lewis) man

Etymology

Inherited from Old Irish immar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maɾ/

Preposition

mar (+ nominative with the definite article, + dative otherwise, triggers lenition)

1. as
2. like

Derived terms

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *marъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mâːr/

Noun

mȃr m (Cyrillic spelling ма̑р)

1. (rare) diligence
2. (rare) eagerness, zeal

Declension

See also

• marljivost
• marljiv

Somali

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Cushitic *mVr-. Compare Arabic مَرَّ (marra, “to pass, elapse”).

Verb

mar

1. to pass, to proceed

References

• “mar” In: Abdullah Umar Mansur (1985) Qaamuska Afsoomaliga.

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish mar (“sea”), from Latin mare (“sea”), from Proto-Italic *mari, from Proto-Indo-European *móri.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaɾ/ [ˈmaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: mar

Noun

mar m or f same meaning (plural mares)

1. sea
2. seaside
3. (selenology) lunar mare
4. (la mar) loads
5. (la mar de) really; hella

Usage notes

• Mar is usually treated as a masculine noun in formal prose and as a feminine noun by sailors or in poetry.

Hyponyms

• See also Category:es:Seas.

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• → Aymara: lamara
• → Classical Nahuatl: láma̱r
• → Papiamentu: lama, laman

Further reading

• “mar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Sumerian

Romanization

mar

1. Romanization of 𒈥 (mar)

Swedish

Etymology 1

Noun

mar

1. March; Abbreviation of mars.

See also

• jan - feb - mar - apr - maj - jun - jul - aug - sep - okt - nov - dec

Etymology 2

From Germanic mari-. mardröm is unrelated.

Noun

mar

1. (rare) sea (large body of salt water)
2. (rare) shallow, muddy bay (of the sea)
   • Geddan trifves bland vass i vikar och marar. (Carl Ulrik Cederström, Fiskodling och Sveriges fiskerier, 1857, page 83.)
3. (rare) small body of water, marsh
4. (rare) meadowland (which used to be seabed)
5. (rare) low, sandy beach of the sea, flying sand field

Related terms

• mar-
• mareld
• marsvin
• markatta
• marso
• marsugga
• martorn
• marulk
• manet
• moras

Anagrams

• arm, ram

Tat

Etymology

Cognate with Persian مار (mâr).

Noun

mar

1. snake

Torres Strait Creole

Noun

mar

1. (western dialect) a person's shadow

Synonyms

• mari (eastern dialect)

Venetan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin mare, from Proto-Indo-European *móri. Compare Italian mare.

Noun

mar m (plural mari)

1. sea

West Frisian

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adverb

mar

1. only, solely

Further reading

• “mar (II)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Conjunction

mar

1. but

Further reading

• “mar (II)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Noun

mar c (plural marren)

1. but

Further reading

• “mar (II)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Frisian mere, from Proto-West Germanic *mari.

Noun

mar c (plural marren, diminutive marke)

1. lake

Further reading

• “mar (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Wolof

Pronunciation

Noun

mar

1. thirst

Zaghawa

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maɾ/

Noun

mar

1. star

References

• Beria-English English-Beria Dictionary [provisional] ADESK, Iriba, Kobe Department, Chad

Zazaki

Alternative forms

• mor

Etymology

Related to Persian مار (mâr)

This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmɑɾ]
• Hyphenation: mar

Noun

mar m

1. (zoology) snake

Noun

mar f

1. (family) mother (specification)