marl

[mahrl]

noun

Geology. a friable earthy deposit consisting of clay and calcium carbonate, used especially as a fertilizer for soils deficient in lime.

Archaic. earth.

verb (used with object)

to fertilize with marl.

Origin of marl

1325–75; Middle English marle < Middle Dutch < Old French < Medieval Latin margila, diminutive of Latin marga, said to be < Gaulish

Related formsmar·la·cious

[mahr-ley-shuh s] /mɑrˈleɪ ʃəs/, marl·y, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for marly

Contemporary Examples of marly

The comments were a shocking dose of reality for graduating senior Marly Faherty.
Obama’s Barnard College Commencement Speech Win
Jesse Ellison
May 14, 2012

Historical Examples of marly

But let us oppose to their works the group of trees on the left in Turner's Marly.
Modern Painters Volume I (of V)
John Ruskin
The Marly excursions were exceedingly expensive to the King.
Memoirs Of The Court Of Marie Antoinette, Queen Of France, Complete
Madame Campan
Everybody who was at Marly hastened as he was best able to Saint Cloud.
The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, Complete
Duc de Saint-Simon
Returned to Marly, the King repeated to all the Court what he had said.
The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, Complete
Duc de Saint-Simon
There were several balls at Marly, but the majority were not masquerades.
The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, Complete
Duc de Saint-Simon

British Dictionary definitions for marly

marl

noun

a fine-grained sedimentary rock consisting of clay minerals, calcite or aragonite, and silt: used as a fertilizer

verb

(tr) to fertilize (land) with marl

Derived Formsmarlacious (mɑːˈleɪʃəs) or marly, adjective

Word Origin for marl

C14: via Old French, from Late Latin margila, diminutive of Latin marga

marl

verb

nautical to seize (a rope) with marline, using a hitch at each turn

Word Origin for marl

C15 marlyn to bind; related to Dutch marlen to tie, Old English mārels cable

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 marly

marl

"clayey soil used for fertilizer," late 14c., from Old French marle (Modern French marne), from Late Latin marglia, diminutive of Latin marga "marl," which is said by Pliny to be a Gaulish word, but modern Celtic cognates are considered to be borrowed from English or French. As a verb by late 14c. Medieval Latin margila is the source of Dutch mergel, German Mergel.

marly in Science

marl

[märl]

A crumbly mixture of clays, calcium and magnesium carbonates, and remnants of shells that forms in both freshwater and marine environments.