mare

[mair]

See more synonyms for mare on Thesaurus.com

noun

a fully mature female horse or other equine animal.

Origin of mare

before 900; Middle English, variant of mere, Old English m(i)ere; cognate with Dutch merrie, German Mähre, Old Norse merr; akin to Old English mearh, Old Norse marr, Irish marc horse. See marshal

Can be confusedmare mayor

mare

[mair]

noun Obsolete.

nightmare(def 3).

Origin of mare

before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with German Mahre, Old Norse mara. See nightmare

mare

[mahr-ey, mair-ee]

noun, plural ma·ri·a

[mahr-ee-uh, mair-] /ˈmɑr i ə, ˈmɛər-/. Astronomy.

any of the several large, dark plains on the moon and Mars: Galileo believed that the lunar features were seas when he first saw them through a telescope.

Origin of mare

1680–90; < Latin: sea

Sirenum

[si-ree-nuh m]

noun

Mare. Mare Sirenum.

Mar.E.

Marine Engineer.

mare nostrum

[mah-re nohs-troo m; English mair-ee nos-truh m, mahr-ey]

noun Latin.

our sea, especially the Mediterranean to the ancient Romans.

de la Mare

[duh luh mair, del-uh mair]

noun

Walter (John),1873–1956, English poet, novelist, playwright, and short-story writer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for mare

girl, queen, adult, female, colt, mare, stallion, filly, matron, doll, empress, bitch, rib, broad, dame, babe, baroness, petticoat, mistress, noblewoman

Examples from the Web for mare

Contemporary Examples of mare

Captain Giuseppe Maggio described the nightmare situations the Mare Nostrum ships encounter.
Britain’s Let-Em-All-Die Policy
Nico Hines, Barbie Latza Nadeau
November 1, 2014
Since Mare Nostrum, more than 60 traffickers have been arrested when their boats were intercepted or rescued at sea.
Hundreds of Migrants are Reported Drowned by Traffickers Near Malta
Barbie Latza Nadeau
September 15, 2014
But if Mare Nostrum ends, it could be a tragic day for migrants making the perilous crossing.
Are European Rescuers Enticing Migrants to Their Deaths?
Barbie Latza Nadeau
September 7, 2014
The five-year-old mare is one of five horses from different stables who failed drugs tests in recent weeks.
Queen's Horse Which Tested Positive For Morphine Could Have Eaten Poppy Seeds
Tom Sykes
July 24, 2014
Instead, it would like to see additional, strengthened search and rescue missions like Mare Nostrum put in place.
Confessions of a Human Trafficker Who Smuggled Desperate Migrants Into Europe
Barbie Latza Nadeau
June 5, 2014

Historical Examples of mare

We went back and found Taylor's mare, and brought her slowly to camp.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
And he brought the mare to a halt by jerking the rope around her neck.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
"As she's my mare, perhaps I might have the privilege," said Dick.
Viviette
William J. Locke
And the next day he took his first real ride on the back of the mare.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
If he were allowed to stretch out after the mare, what would the result be?
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand

British Dictionary definitions for mare

mare

noun

the adult female of a horse or zebra

Word Origin for mare

C12: from Old English, of Germanic origin; related to Old High German mariha, Old Norse merr mare

mare

noun plural maria (ˈmɑːrɪə)

(capital when part of a name) any of a large number of huge dry plains on the surface of the moon, visible as dark markings and once thought to be seas: Mare Imbrium (Sea of Showers)
a similar area on the surface of Mars, such as Mare Sirenum

Word Origin for mare

from Latin: sea

de la Mare

noun

Walter (John). 1873–1956, English poet and novelist, noted esp for his evocative verse for children. His works include the volumes of poetry The Listeners and Other Poems (1912) and Peacock Pie (1913) and the novel Memoirs of a Midget (1921)

mare nostrum

noun

the Latin name for the Mediterranean

Word Origin for mare nostrum

literally: our sea

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mare

n.1

"female horse," Old English mere (Mercian), myre (West Saxon), fem. of mearh "horse," from Proto-Germanic *markhjon- (cf. Old Saxon meriha, Old Norse merr, Old Frisian merrie, Dutch merrie, Old High German meriha, German Mähre "mare"), said to be of Gaulish origin (cf. Irish and Gaelic marc, Welsh march, Breton marh "horse"). No known cognates beyond Germanic and Celtic. As the name of a throw in wrestling, it is attested from c.1600. Mare's nest "illusory discovery, excitement over something which does not exist" is from 1610s.

n.2

"broad, dark areas of the moon," 1765, from Latin mare "sea" (see marine), applied to lunar features by Galileo and used thus in 17c. Latin works. They originally were thought to be actual seas.

n.3

"night-goblin, incubus," Old English mare "incubus, nightmare, monster," from mera, mære, from Proto-Germanic *maron "goblin" (cf. Middle Low German mar, Middle Dutch mare, Old High German mara, German Mahr "incubus," Old Norse mara "nightmare, incubus"), from PIE *mora- "incubus" (cf. first element in Old Irish Morrigain "demoness of the corpses," literally "queen of the nightmare," also Bulgarian, Serbian mora, Czech mura, Polish zmora "incubus;" French cauchemar, with first element from Old French caucher "to trample"), from root *mer- "to rub away, harm" (see morbid).

mare in Science

mare

[mä′rā]

Plural maria (mä′rē-ə)

Any of the large, low-lying dark areas on the Moon or on Mars or other inner planets. The lunar maria are believed to consist of volcanic basalts, and many are believed to be basins formed initially by large impacts with meteoroids and later filled with lava flows. Compare terra.