Meanings
mare1
plural mares · alternative obsolete meare
- An adult female horse.
1 more example
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,[…].
1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC
mare2
plural mares
- historicalobsoleteA 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 (likely a folkloric interpretation of sleep paralysis).
- CommonwealthIrelandUKcolloquialA nightmare; a frustrating or terrible experience.
I'm having a complete mare today.
mare3
mare4
Mare5
- A diminutive of the female given names Mary, Maria, Marianne, and other female names beginning with Mar- , from Hebrew.
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
mare · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*márkos
- Proto-Germanic*marhaz
- Proto-Germanic*marhijō
- Proto-West Germanic*marhijā
- Old Englishmiere
- Proto-Germanic*marhaz
- Proto-West Germanic*marh
- Old Englishmearh
- Middle Englishmare
- Englishmare
From Middle English mare, meare, meir, mer, mere, meyre, mure, from Old English mīere (“female horse, mare”), from Proto-West Germanic *marhijā, from Proto-Germanic *marhijō (“female horse”), from *marhaz (“horse”), from Proto-Indo-European *márkos (“horse”). Cognates Cognate with Scots mere (“mare”), Saterland Frisian Märe (“mare”), West Frisian merje (“mare”), Dutch merrie (“mare”), German Mähre (“female horse”), Danish mær (“old mare”), Faroese mer (“mare”), Icelandic meri (“mare”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk merr (“mare”), Swedish mæhr, mær, mähr, märr (“mare”); also Breton marc'h (“horse”), Cornish margh (“horse”), Irish and Scottish Gaelic marc (“horse”), Welsh march (“horse”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →mare · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*mer-
- Proto-Indo-European*mor-
- Proto-Germanic*marǭ
- Proto-West Germanic*marā
- Old Englishmare
- Middle Englishmare
- Englishmare
Inherited from Middle English mare, 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. After becoming obsolete in its original usage, the term was recreated in modern colloquial speech as a clipping of the derived term nightmare. 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).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἵππος
- ἵππος (híppos)female horse
Arabic حِجْر, فَرَس
- حِجْر (ḥijr)female horse
- فَرَس (faras)female horse
- فرس (faras)female horse
- عودة (ʕawda)female horse
Basque behor
- behorfemale horse
Bulgarian коби́ла, зъл дух
- коби́ла (kobíla)female horse
- зъл дух (zăl duh)evil spirit
Catalan euga, egua
- eugafemale horse
- eguafemale horse
Chinese Cantonese 月海
- 月海 (jyut⁶ hoi²)planetology: dark circular plain
Chinese Mandarin 騍馬 /骒马, 母馬 /母马
- 騍馬 /骒马 (kèmǎ)female horse
- 母馬 /母马 (mǔmǎ)female horse
- 月海 (yuèhǎi)planetology: dark circular plain
Czech klisna, kobyla
- klisnafemale horse
- kobylafemale horse
- můraevil spirit
Danish hoppe, mare
- hoppefemale horse
- mareevil spirit
Dutch merrie
- merriefemale horse
Esperanto ĉevalino
- ĉevalinofemale horse
Estonian mära
- märafemale horse
Finnish tamma, painajainen
- tammafemale horse
- painajainenevil spirit
- maraevil spirit
- ajajainenevil spirit
- painajainenfrustrating or terrible experience
- meriplanetology: dark circular plain
French jument
- jumentfemale horse
German Stute, Mähre
- Stutefemale horse
- Mährefemale horse
- Pferdeweibchenfemale horse
- Mahrevil spirit
- Albevil spirit
- Nachtalbevil spirit
- Drudeevil spirit
- Mareplanetology: dark circular plain
Greek φοράδα
- φοράδα (foráda)female horse
Hebrew סוסה, סוּסָה
- סוסהfemale horse
- סוּסָה (susá)female horse
Hindi घोड़ी
- घोड़ी (ghoṛī)female horse
Hungarian kanca
- kancafemale horse
Icelandic hryssa, meri
- hryssafemale horse
- merifemale horse
- maraevil spirit
Indonesian mare, maria
- mareplanetology: dark circular plain
- mariaplanetology: dark circular plain
Irish láir
- láirfemale horse
Italian cavalla, incubo
- cavallafemale horse
- incuboevil spirit
- incubofrustrating or terrible experience
- mareplanetology: dark circular plain
Japanese 牝馬
- 牝馬 (hinba)female horse
Korean 암말
- 암말 (ammal)female horse
Latin equa
- equafemale horse
Latvian ķēve
- ķēvefemale horse
Lithuanian kumelė
- kumelėfemale horse
Malay kuda betina, kuda betina dewasa
- kuda betinafemale horse
- kuda betina dewasafemale horse
Māori hoiho uwha, hōiho uha
- hoiho uwhafemale horse
- hōiho uhafemale horse
Norwegian mara
- maraevil spirit
Norwegian Bokmål hoppe, merr
- hoppefemale horse
- merrfemale horse
- hunnhestfemale horse
Persian مادیان
- مادیان (mâdiyân)female horse
Polish klacz, kobyła
- klaczfemale horse
- kobyłafemale horse
- maraevil spirit
Portuguese égua, mar
- éguafemale horse
- marplanetology: dark circular plain
Punjabi ਘੋੜੀ
- ਘੋੜੀ (ghoṛī)female horse
Romanian iapă
- iapăfemale horse
Russian кобы́ла, мо́ре
- кобы́ла (kobýla)female horse
- мо́ре (móre)planetology: dark circular plain
Scottish Gaelic làir
- làirfemale horse
Slovak kobyla, mora
- kobylafemale horse
- moraevil spirit
Spanish yegua, jaca
- yeguafemale horse
- jacafemale horse
Swedish märr, sto
- märrfemale horse
- stofemale horse
- maraevil spirit
Turkish kısrak, deniz
- kısrakfemale horse
- denizplanetology: dark circular plain
Ukrainian коби́ла
- коби́ла (kobýla)female horse
Vietnamese ngựa cái, biển Mặt Trăng
- ngựa cáifemale horse
- biển Mặt Trăngplanetology: dark circular plain
Welsh caseg
- casegfemale horse
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with mare
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
mare. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mare
“mare.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mare. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mare,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mare.
Source: mare on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.