英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

marathon (n.)[marathon 词源字典]: 1896, marathon race, from story of Greek hero Pheidippides, who in 490 B.C.E. ran the 26 miles and 385 yards to Athens from the Plains of Marathon to tell of the allied Greek victory there over Persian army. The original story (Herodotus) is that he ran from Athens to Sparta to seek aid, which arrived too late to participate in the battle. Introduced as an athletic event in the 1896 revival of the Olympic Games, based on a later, less likely story, and quickly extended to mean "any very long event or activity." The place name is literally "fennel-field." Related: Marathoner (by 1912).[marathon etymology, marathon origin, 英语词源]
maraud (v.): 1690s, from French marauder (17c.), from Middle French maraud "rascal" (15c.), of unknown origin, perhaps from French dialectal maraud "tomcat," echoic of its cry. A word popularized in several languages during the Thirty Years War (Spanish merodear, German marodiren, marodieren "to maraud," marodebruder "straggler, deserter") by punning association with Count Mérode, imperialist general. Related: Marauded; marauding.
marauder (n.): 1690s, agent noun from maraud (v.).
marble (n.): type of stone much used in sculpture, monuments, etc., early 14c., by dissimilation from marbra (mid-12c.), from Old French marbre (which itself underwent dissimilation of 2nd -r- to -l- in 14c.; marbre persisted in English into early 15c.), from Latin marmor, from or cognate with Greek marmaros "marble, gleaming stone," of unknown origin, perhaps originally an adjective meaning "sparkling," which would connect it with marmairein "to shine." The Latin word was taken directly into Old English as marma. German Marmor is restored Latin from Old High German marmul. Meaning "little balls of marble used in a children's game" is attested from 1690s.
marble (adj.): late 14c., "of marble," from marble (n.). Meaning "mottled like marble" is mid-15c. Marble cake is attested from 1864.
marble (v.): 1590s (implied in marbled), "to give (something) the appearance of marble," from marble (n.). Related: Marbling.
marbles (n.): children's game, from plural of marble (n.); first recorded by that name in 1709 but probably older (it was known in 13c. German as tribekugeln) and originally played with small balls of polished marble or alabaster, later clay; the modern glass ones with the colored swirl date from 1840s.

Meaning "mental faculties, common sense" is from 1927, American English slang, perhaps [OED] from earlier slang marbles "furniture, personal effects, 'the goods' " (1864, Hotten), a corrupt translation of French meubles (plural) "furniture" (see furniture).
marcasite (n.): crystalized pyrite, early 15c., from Medieval Latin marchasita, of obscure origin, perhaps via Spanish, probably from Arabic, though OED doubts this. Perhaps ultimately from Persian marquashisha [Klein]. "This name has been used for a number of substances but mainly for iron pyrites and especially for the crystalline forms used in the 18th century for ornaments." [Flood]
Marcella: fem. proper name, Latin, fem. of Marcellus.
Marcellus: masc. proper name, Latin, diminutive of Marcus.
marcescent (adj.): "withering," 1727, from Latin marcescentem (nominative marcescens), present participle of marcescere "to wither, languish, droop, decay, pine away," inchoative of marcere "to wither, droop, be faint," from PIE root *merk- "to decay."
march (v.): "to walk with regular tread," early 15c., from Middle French marcher "to march, walk," from Old French marchier "to stride, march," originally "to trample, tread underfoot," perhaps from Frankish *markon or some other Germanic source related to obsolete Middle English march (n.) "borderland" (see march (n.2)). Or possibly from Gallo-Roman *marcare, from Latin marcus "hammer," via notion of "tramping the feet." Meaning "to cause to march" is from 1590s. Related: Marched; marching. Marching band is attested from 1852. Italian marciare, Spanish marchar are said to be from French.
march (n.2): "boundary," late 13c. (in reference to the borderlands beside Wales, rendering Old English Mercia), from Old French marche "boundary, frontier," from Frankish *marka or some other Germanic source (compare Old High German marchon "to mark out, delimit," German Mark "boundary;" see mark (n.1)). Now obsolete. There was a verb in Middle English (c. 1300), "to have a common boundary," from Old French marchier "border upon, lie alongside." This is the old Germanic word for "border, boundary," but as it came to mean "borderland" in many languages new words were borrowed in the original sense (compare border(n.), bound (n.)"border, boundary"). Modern German Grenze is from Middle High German grenize (13c., replacing Old High German marcha), a loan-word from Slavic (compare Polish and Russian granica). Dutch grens, Danish groense, Swedish gräns are from German.
March: third month, c. 1200, from Anglo-French marche, Old French marz, from Latin Martius (mensis) "(month) of Mars," from Mars (genitive Martis). Replaced Old English hreðmonaþ, the first part of which is of uncertain meaning, perhaps from hræd "quick, nimble, ready, active, alert, prompt." For March hare, proverbial type of madness, see mad.
march (n.1): "act of marching," 1580s, from march (v.) or else from Middle French marche (n.), from marcher (v.). The musical sense first attested 1570s, from notion of "rhythmic drumbeat" for marching. Transferred sense of "forward motion" is from 1620s.
marchen (n.): 1871, "German fairy or folk tale," from German Märchen, "a story or tale," from Middle High German merechyn "short verse narrative," from Old High German mari "news, tale," from Proto-Germanic *mærjo- "renowned, famous, illustrious" (source of Old English mære; see more (adj.)) + diminutive suffix -chen.
marchioness (n.): 16c., from Medieval Latin marchionissa, fem. of marchio "marquis," from marca (see marquis (n.)).
Marcia: fem. proper name, from Latin Marcia, fem. of Marcius, a Roman gens, related to Marcus (q.v.).
Marcionite (n.): 1540, early Christian sect, named for Gnostic Marcion of Sinope (c. 140), who denied any connection between the Old Testament and the New. They contrasted the barbaric and incompetent creator in the Old Testament, who favored bandits and killers, with the "higher god" of Christ. They also emphasized virginity and rejection of marriage. They flourished, especially in the East, until late 4c.
Marcomanni: name of a Teutonic tribe, from Latin Marcomanni, from a Germanic compound, literally "men of the border;" first element cognate with Old High German mark, Old English mearc "border" (see march (n.2)). For second element, see man (n.).