mer-

UK/ˈmɜː/US/ˈmɝ/

prefix

sea; marine; applied to beings that are fully or partly sea-creatures.

“merlady, merfolk, merwife, mermonster”

OriginMiddle English mere- ← Old English mere- ← Proto-Germanic *mari- →
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Meanings

mer-1

prefix
  1. sea; marine; applied to beings that are fully or partly sea-creatures.

    mercow, mermaid, merman, merswine, mersnake

mer-2

prefix
  1. fantasyOf, pertaining to, or associated with the realm of mermaids and mermen.

    merlady, merfolk, merwife, mermonster

mer-3

prefix
  1. alternativeAlternative form of mero- (“part, partial”) used before a vowel

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
marined

Origin

mer- · prefix

  1. Proto-Germanic*mari“sea”
  2. Proto-Germanic*mari-
  3. Old Englishmere-
  4. Middle Englishmere-
  5. Englishmer-

From Middle English mere-, from Old English mere-, from Proto-Germanic *mari-, from Proto-Germanic *mari (“sea”). More at mere.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

mer- · prefix

Extracted from merman, mermaid.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with mer-

yourwereherpermatureensurevoyeurreferoccurmirrorsircellularerpreferintercureurentrepreneurinsurestirerrcurobscurebur
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

murrmurremyrrh (all fern–fir–fur merger)mare (fair–fur merger)murrmurremyrrh (all fern–fir–fur merger)mare (fair–fur merger)murrmurremyrrh (all fern–fir–fur merger)mare (fair–fur merger)
Cite this entry
APA

mer-. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mer-

MLA

“mer-.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mer-. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mer-,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mer-.

Source: mer- on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.