mare

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mare"

Languages (40)

English

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English

Etymology 1

From Middle English mare, mere, from Old English mīere (“female horse, mare”), from Proto-West Germanic *marhijā, from Proto-Germanic *marhijō (“female horse”), from *marhaz (“horse”).

Cognates

See also Scots mere, meir, mear (“mare”), North Frisian mar (“mare, horse”), West Frisian merje (“mare”), Dutch merrie (“mare”), Danish mær (“mare”), Swedish märr (“mare”), Icelandic meri (“mare”), German Mähre (“decrepit old horse”)), Old English mearh.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /mɛə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /mɛɚ/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /meː/
• (New Zealand, without the cheer–chair merger) IPA^(key): /meə/
• (New Zealand, cheer–chair merger) IPA^(key): /miə/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /meɹ/
• (Lancashire, fair–fur merger) IPA^(key): /mɜː(ɹ)/
• Homophones: mere (cheer–chair merger), myrrh (fair–fur merger)
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)

Noun

mare (plural mares)

2. An adult female horse.

   Antonyms: stallion, stud, gelding

   • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:

     But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶ […] The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window at the old mare feeding in the meadow below by the brook, and a 'bead' could be drawn upon Molly, the dairymaid, kissing the fogger behind the hedge, […].

3. (UK, Ireland, derogatory, slang) A foolish woman.
   • 2007, Hester Browne, Little Lady, Big Apple:

     The silly mare phoned your mother, talking about applying for a mortgage, and we don't want that, do we?

Coordinate terms

• colt (“young male horse”)
• filly (“young female horse”)
• foal (“young horse”)
• pony (“small horse”)

Derived terms

• brood mare
• flying mare
• mare's leg
• mare's milk
• mare's nest
• mare's tail
• mare's teat
• Premarin
• ride the three-legged mare
• seamare
• shanks' mare
• stud mare
• the grey mare is the better horse
• Three-legged mare
• three-legged mare
• two-legged mare
• wooden mare

Translations

female horse

Albanian: pelë (sq) f Andi: ича (iča) Arabic: حِجْر (ar) f (ḥijr), فَرَس f (faras) Egyptian Arabic: فرس f (faras) Moroccan Arabic: عودة f (ʕawda) Armenian: մատակ (hy) (matak), զամբիկ (hy) (zambik) Aromanian: iapã f Asturian: yegua (ast) f, burra (ast) Avar: гӏала (ʻala) Azerbaijani: madyan (az) Bashkir: бейә (beyə) Basque: behor (eu) Bats: ჴადალ (qadal) Belarusian: кабы́ла f (kabýla) Breton: kazeg (br) f Bulgarian: коби́ла (bg) f (kobíla) Burmese: မြင်းမ (my) (mrang:ma.) Buryat: гүүн (güün) Catalan: euga (ca) f, egua (ca) f Chechen: кхаьл (qäl) Chinese: Mandarin: 騍馬 / 骒马 (zh) (kèmǎ), 母馬 / 母马 (zh) (mǔmǎ) Chuvash: кӗсре (kĕsre) Crimean Tatar: baytal Czech: klisna (cs) f, kobyla (cs) f Danish: hoppe (da) c Dutch: merrie (nl) f East Yugur: gün Erzya: эльде (elde) Esperanto: ĉevalino Fala: egua f (Lagarteiru, Mañegu), yegua f (Mañegu, Valverdeñu) Faroese: ryssa f, mer f Finnish: tamma (fi) Franco-Provençal: èga f, cavala f French: jument (fr) f Galician: egua (gl) f, egoa f, besta (gl) f, brégola f, faca (gl) f, facaneia f, marzoa f Georgian: ფაშატი (ka) (pašaṭi), ჭაკი (č̣aḳi), ხრდალი (xrdali) German: Stute (de) f, (obsolete) Mähre (de) f, Pferdeweibchen n Greek: φοράδα (el) f (foráda) Ancient Greek: ἵππος f (híppos) Hebrew: סוסה / סוּסָה f (susá) Hindi: घोड़ी f (ghoṛī) Hungarian: kanca (hu) Icelandic: hryssa (is) f, meri f Ido: kavalino (io) Ingush: кхал (qal) Interlingua: cavalla Irish: láir f Old Irish: láir f Italian: cavalla (it) f Japanese: 牝馬 (ja) (ひんば, hinba) Kabuverdianu: égua Kalmyk: (please verify) гүн (gün) Kazakh: бие (bie) Khakas: пии (pii) Korean: 암말 (ko) (ammal) Kurdish: Northern Kurdish: mahîn (ku) f, mehîn (ku) f Kyrgyz: бээ (ky) (bee) Lao: please add this translation if you can Latgalian: kēve f Latin: equa (la) f Latvian: ķēve (lv) f Lithuanian: kumelė (lt) f Low German: German Low German: Tööt f Macedonian: ко́била f (kóbila) Malay: kuda betina, kuda betina dewasa Maltese: debba f Maori: hoiho uwha, hōiho uha Megleno-Romanian: iapă f Mongolian: гүү (mn) (güü) Navajo: łį́į́tsaʼii Norman: jeunment f (Jersey) North Frisian: Ök (Sylt) Norwegian: Bokmål: hoppe (no) m or f, merr (no) m or f, hunnhest m Nynorsk: hoppe f, merr f, hohest m Occitan: èga (oc) f, cavala (oc) f Old Church Slavonic: кобꙑла f (kobyla) Old English: mīere f Old Norse: hryssa f, merr f, jalda f Ossetian: ефс (efs) Ottoman Turkish: قیصراق (kısrak), یوند (yund) Paraguayan Guarani: (please verify) kavaju kuña Pashto: اسپه (ps) f (aspa) Persian: مادیان (fa) (mâdiyân) Plautdietsch: Kobbel f Polish: klacz (pl) f, kobyła (pl) f Portuguese: égua (pt) f Punjabi: ਘੋੜੀ (pa) f (ghoṛī) Romani: grasni f Romanian: iapă (ro) f Russian: кобы́ла (ru) f (kobýla) Scots: meir Scottish Gaelic: làir f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: ко̀била f Latin: kòbila (sh) Shor: пей Sikkimese: རྒོདམ (rgodm) Slovak: kobyla (sk) f Slovene: kobíla (sl) f Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: kobyła f Upper Sorbian: kobła f Spanish: yegua (es) f, jaca (es) f Swedish: märr (sv) c, sto (sv) n Tajik: модиён (tg) (modiyon) Taos: yàwoʼóna Tatar: бия (tt) (biyä) Telugu: ఆడగుర్రం (te) (āḍagurraṁ), బడబ (te) (baḍaba) Thai: please add this translation if you can Turkish: kısrak (tr) Tuvan: бе (be), кызырак (kızırak) Ukrainian: коби́ла (uk) f (kobýla) Uyghur: بايتال (baytal), بىيە (biye) Uzbek: biya (uz) Vietnamese: ngựa cái Vilamovian: köwuł Volapük: jijevod (vo), jijeval (obsolete) Walloon: cavale (wa) f Welsh: caseg (cy) f Wolof: wajan wi Yakut: биэ (bie)

Etymology 2

From Old English mare (“nightmare, monster”), from Proto-West Germanic *marā, from Proto-Germanic *marǭ (“nightmare, incubus”), from Proto-Indo-European *mor- (“feminine evil spirit”). Doublet of mara.

Cognates

Akin to Dutch (dial.) mare, German (dial.) Mahr, Old Norse mara ( > Danish mare, Swedish mara (“incubus, nightmare”); also Old Irish Morrígan (“phantom queen”), Albanian merë (“horror”), Polish zmora (“nightmare”), Czech mura (“nightmare, moth”), Greek Μόρα (Móra).

Pronunciation

• (British) IPA^(key): /mɛə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /mɛɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)
• Homophone: mayor (in a number of dialects)

Noun

mare (plural mares)

2. (obsolete or historical) A type of evil spirit formerly thought to sit on the chest of a sleeping person; also, the feeling of suffocation felt during sleep, attributed to such a spirit.
3. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, colloquial) A nightmare; a frustrating or terrible experience.

   I'm having a complete mare today.

Derived terms

• daymare
• nightmare

Translations

evil spirit

Bulgarian: зъл дух m pl (zǎl duh) Czech: můra (cs) f Danish: mare (da) Finnish: painajainen (fi), mara (fi), ajajainen German: Mahr (de) m or f, Alb (de) m, Nachtalb m, Drude (de) m Icelandic: mara (is) Italian: incubo (it) m Norwegian: mara Old Norse: mara Polish: mara (pl) f Slovak: mora f Swedish: mara (sv) c

frustrating or terrible experience

Finnish: painajainen (fi) Italian: incubo (it) m

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Latin mare (“sea”). Doublet of maar and mere (“a body of standing water”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑɹ.eɪ/, /ˈmɛɚ.i/, /ˈmɑɹ.i/
• Rhymes: -ɑɹi

Noun

mare (plural maria)

2. (planetology) A large, dark plain, which may have the appearance of a sea, such as those on the Moon
3. (planetology) On Saturn's moon Titan, any of several lakes which are large expanses of what is thought to be liquid hydrocarbons.

   Kraken Mare (a lake of liquid hydrocarbons on Titan which is slightly larger than the Caspian Sea)

Translations

planetology: dark circular plain

Chinese: Cantonese: 月海 (jyut6 hoi2) Mandarin: 月海 (zh) (yuèhǎi) Finnish: meri (fi) German: Mare (de) n Indonesian: mare (id), maria (id) Italian: mare (it) m Portuguese: mar (pt) m Russian: мо́ре (ru) n (móre) Turkish: deniz (tr) Vietnamese: biển Mặt Trăng

Etymology 4

See mayor.

Noun

mare (plural mares)

1. Obsolete form of mayor.
2. Obsolete form of mair.

Anagrams

• mera, Amer., rame, mear, Erma, Maer, Mera, Ream, amer., Arem, arme, ramé, ream

Afar

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maˈre/ [mʌˈɾɛ]
• Hyphenation: ma‧re

Noun

maré f (singulative maréyta m or mareytá f)

1. family, relationship

Declension

Declension of maré
absolutive	maré
predicative	maré
subjective	maré
genitive	maré
Postpositioned forms l-case marél k-case marék t-case marét h-case maréh

Verb

maré

1. (Northern Afar, intransitive) live
2. (Northern Afar, intransitive) continue

Conjugation

Conjugation of mare (type II verb)
		1st singular	2nd singular	3rd singular		1st plural	2nd plural	3rd plural
				m	f
perfective	V-affirmative	maréh	martéh	maréh	martéh	marréh	marteeníh	mareeníh
	N-affirmative	maré	marté	maré	marté	marré	martén	marén
	negative	mámarinniyo	mámarinnito	mámarinna	mámarinna	mámarinnino	mámarinniton	mámarinnon
imperfective	V-affirmative	maráh	martáh	maráh	martáh	marráh	martaanáh	maraanáh
	N-affirmative	mará	martá	mará	martá	marrá	martán	marán
	negative	mámara	mámarta	mámara	mámarta	mámarra	mámartan	mámaran
prospective	V-affirmative	maréliyoh maréyyoh	marélitoh maréttoh	maréleh	maréleh	marélinoh marénnoh	marélitoonuh maréttoonuh	maréloonuh
	N-affirmative	maréliyo maréyyo	marélito marétto	maréle	maréle	marélino marénno	maréliton marétton	marélon
conjunctive I	V-affirmative	máruh	mártuh	máruh	mártuh	máruh	martóonuh	maróonuh
	N-affirmative	máru	mártu	máru	mártu	máru	martón	marón
	negative	maré wáyuh	maré wáytuh	maré wáyuh	maré wáytuh	maré wáynuh	maré waytóonuh	maré wóonuh
conjunctive II	V-affirmative	maránkeh	martánkeh	maránkeh	martánkeh	marránkeh	martaanánkeh	maraanánkeh
	N-affirmative	maránke	martánke	maránke	martánke	marránke	martaanánke	maraanánke
	negative	maré wáankeh	maré waytánkeh	maré wáankeh	maré waytánkeh	maré waynánkeh	maré waytaanánkeh	maré wáankeh
jussive	affirmative	máray	mártay	máray	mártay	márray	martóonay	maróonay
	negative	maré wáay	maré wáytay	maré wáay	maré wáytay	maré wáynay	maré waytóonay	maré wóonay
past conditional	affirmative	marinniyóy	marinnitóy	marinnáy	marinnáy	marinninóy	marinnitoonúy	marinnoonúy
	negative	maré wanniyóy	maré wannitóy	maré wannáy	maré wannáy	maré wanninóy	maré wannitoonúy	maré wanninoonúy
present conditional I	affirmative	marék	marték	marék	marték	marrék	marteeník	mareeník
	negative	maré wéek	maré wayték	maré wéek	maré wayték	maré waynék	maré wayteeník	maré weeník
		singular	plural			singular	plural
consultative	affirmative	maróo	marróo	imperative	affirmative	már	mára
	negative	mamaróo	mamarróo		negative	mámarin	mámarina
-h converb	-i form	-k converb	-in(n)uh converb	-innuk converb	infinitive	indefinite participle
						V-focus	N-focus
márah	mári	márak	marínnuh	marínnuk	maríyya	marináanih	marináan
Compound tenses past perfect affirmative perfective + perfective of én or sugé present perfect affirmative perfective + imperfective of én future perfect affirmative perfective + prospective of sugé past progressive -k converb + imperfective of én or sugé present progressive affirmative imperfect + imperfective of én future progressive -k converb + prospective of sugé immediate future affirmative conjunctive I + imperfective of wée imperfect potential I affirmative conjunctive I + imperfective of takké imperfect potential II affirmative imperfective + -m + takké negative maré + imperfective of wée + -m + takké perfect potential affirmative perfective + -m + takké negative maré + perfective of wée + -m + takké present conditional II affirmative imperfective + object pronoun + tekkék negative maré + perfective of wée + object pronoun + tekkék perfect conditional affirmative perfective + imperfective of sugé + -k negative perfective + sugé + imperfective of wée -k irrealis maré + perfective of xaaxé or raaré

Related terms

• mára (“people”)

References

• E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985), “mare”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
• Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015), L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎, Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

Albanian

Alternative forms

• marë, marulë

Etymology

Plurale tantum; plural of variant marë, borrowed through Vulgar Latin from Latin marum (“cat thyme, kind of sage”).

Noun

mare f (definite marja)

1. strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo)
2. strawberry tree fruit

Derived terms

• mareshtë

Aromanian

Adjective

mare

1. alternative form of mari

Balkan Gagauz Turkish

Alternative forms

• mari

Etymology

From Bulgarian мари (mari).

Particle

mare

1. Used when addressing a female, usually as an intensifier, but seldom used independently.

Bikol Central

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ma‧re
• IPA^(key): /ˈmaɾe/ [ˈma.ɾe]

Verb

máre

1. misspelling of mari

Catalan

Etymology

From Old Catalan mare, from Latin māter, mātrem, from Proto-Italic *mātēr, from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr. Compare Occitan maire, French mère, Spanish madre, Italian madre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈma.ɾə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈma.ɾe]

• Audio (Valencia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾe

Noun

mare f (plural mares)

1. mother

   mare subrogada ― surrogate mother

2. uterus (of an animal)

   Synonym: úter

3. (by analogy) main course of a river or canal; channel
4. (Mallorca, playground games) home

Derived terms

• cèl·lula mare
• Dia de la Mare
• emmarat
• marededeu

References

• “mare”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “mare”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “mare” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “mare” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Corsican

Alternative forms

• mari

Etymology

From Latin mare.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma.re/

Noun

mare m

1. sea

Further reading

• “mare” in INFCOR: Banca di dati di a lingua corsa

Danish

English Wikipedia has an article on:

mare (folklore)

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Old Norse mara.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑːɑ/

Noun

mare c (singular definite maren, plural indefinite marer)

1. (folklore) a mare (an evil spirit)

Declension

Declension of mare

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	mare	maren	marer	marerne
genitive	mares	marens	marers	marernes

Related terms

• mareridt n

References

• “mare” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch mâre, from Old Dutch māri, from Proto-West Germanic *mārī (“story”).

Noun

mare f (plural maren, diminutive maartje n)

1. (Belgium, archaic) message, report, story

   Synonyms: bericht, tijding, verslag, verhaal

2. (archaic) rumor

   Synonym: gerucht

Related terms

• vermaren

Etymology 2

Probably from Medieval Latin mara (“standing water”), from Latin mare (“sea”). Doublet of Maar and Meer.

Noun

mare f (plural maren, diminutive maartje n)

1. depression in non-volcanic stone

   Coordinate term: maar

Etymology 3

From Middle Dutch māre (“incubus”), from Old Dutch *mara, from Proto-West Germanic *marā, from Proto-Germanic *marǭ.

Noun

mare f (plural mares, diminutive maartje n)

1. a nocturnal monster or spirit that torments its victims while they are sleeping
2. (Belgium) nightmare
3. witch

Derived terms

• nachtmare

Related terms

• maretak

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

mare

1. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of maren

Anagrams

• arme, rame

French

Etymology

From Middle French mare, from Old French mare, from Old Norse marr (“lake, sea, pool”), from Proto-Germanic *mari (“lake, sea”), from Proto-Indo-European *móri. Doublet of mer inherited from Latin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maʁ/ ~ /mɑʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Noun

mare f (plural mares)

1. puddle
2. pool
   • 1857, Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary […] ‎, Paris: Michel Lévy Frères:

     La cour allait en montant; plantée d'arbres symétriquement espacés, et le bruit gai d'un troupeau d'oies retentissait près de la mare.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• pavé dans la mare

Further reading

• “mare”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• amer
• arme, armé
• rame, ramé

Indonesian

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin mare (“sea”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈmarə/ [ˈma.rə]
• Syllabification: ma‧re

Noun

marê (plural mare-mare)

1. (planetology) mare (a large, dark plain, which may have the appearance of a sea, such as those on the Moon)

Alternative forms

• maria

Further reading

• “mare”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Istriot

Etymology 1

From Latin mare.

Noun

mare

1. sea
   • 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 99:

     Cume li va puleîto in alto mare!

     How they row well on the high seas!

Derived terms

• alto mare

Etymology 2

From Latin māter.

Noun

mare f

1. mother

See also

• mama

Italian

Italian Wikipedia has an article on:

mare

Wikipedia ^it

Alternative forms

• mar (apocopic)

Etymology

From Latin mare, from Proto-Italic *mari, from Proto-Indo-European *móri.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈma.re/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -are
• Hyphenation: mà‧re

Noun

mare m (plural mari)

1. sea

Related terms

• ammarare
• frutto di mare
• lupo di mare
• marea
• mareggiata
• maremoto
• maretta
• marina
• marinaio
• marinara
• marinare
• marino
• marittimo

See also

• oceano (“ocean”)

Further reading

• mare in Collins Italian-English Dictionary
• mare in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

• Mera, arme, erma, mera, rame, rema

Japanese

Romanization

mare

1. Rōmaji transcription of まれ