Etymology

mazarine

M3A1Z10A1R1I1N1E1

Today it means: A dark blue color. Full definition →

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mazarine · noun, adjective1

Perhaps from the name either of Cardinal Mazarin or of the Duchesse de Mazarin, but the Oxford English Dictionary states that the evidence is lacking and that it is not found in French dictionaries.

mazarine · noun2

Of obscure history. The Oxford English Dictionary notes that “Phillips 1706 mentions a phrase à la mazarine (not given by Fr[ench] lexicographers), used to designate a particular mode of dressing fowls, and possibly f[rom] the name of Cardinal Mazarin (died 1662) prime minister of France, or of the Duchesse de Mazarin, who died at Chelsea in 1699.”

mazarine · noun3

Perhaps a corruption of mezzanine.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.