mara

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑːɹə/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːɹə

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old Norse mara, from Proto-Germanic *marǭ, cognate with Old English mare or mære. Doublet of mare. See nightmare.

Noun

mara (plural maras)

1. (European folklore) A nightmare; a spectre or wraith-like creature in Germanic and particularly Scandinavian folklore; a female demon who torments people in sleep by crouching on their chests or stomachs, or by causing terrifying visions.
   • 1996, Catharina Raudvere, “Now you see her, now you don't: some notes on the conception of female shape-shifters in Scandinavian traditions”, in Sandra Billington, Miranda Green, editors, The Concept of the Goddess, pages 41–55:

     The corpus of related texts tells us that within rural society it was not improbable for your neighbour's envy of your fine cattle to take the form of a mara.

Translations

Further reading

• Mare (folklore) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Sanskrit मार (māra).

Noun

mara (plural maras)

1. (Buddhism) A type of god that prevents accomplishment or success.
   • 2011, Graham Woodhouse, Lobsang Gyatso, Tsongkhapa's Praise for Dependent Relativity‎, Wisdom Publications, page 20:

     Mara means demon, or demonic influence, that hinders the practice of virtue. It may be an external spirit or an aspect of our own imperfect condition. All hindrances on the path to liberation are subsumed under the four maras. The first mara is the mara of the aggregates. […] The second of the maras is the mara of the afflictions, which are the same as the afflictive obstructions. They are identified as a mara because they precipitate all harmful actions, from malicious gossip to murder. […] The third mara is Devaputra, literally "son of a god," an external troublemaker who specializes in interfering with beings who are endeavoring to achieve something positive. […] The last mara is the mara of death.

2. (Buddhism) Any malicious or evil spirit.
   • 2002, Sarvananda Bluestone, The World Dream Book, page 73:

     The mara is the spirit that causes illness, accidents, and mishaps. The only protection against it is another mara who befriends a person or a group. A mara who becomes friendly is called a gunik. This transformation occurs when a mara comes to a person in a dream and states a desire to be friendly. But there are deceitful maras who pretend to be friendly, yet will betray the person who trusts them.

Related terms

• Mara

Translations

Further reading

• Mara (demon) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Etymology 3

From New World Spanish mará.

Noun

mara (plural maras)

1. Any caviid rodent of genus Dolichotis, common in the Patagonian steppes of Argentina.
   • 1999, Michael A. Mares, editor, Encyclopedia of Deserts‎, Mara, page 349:

     Maras have a white patch of fur on the rump that they flash when running, an adaptation they share with several species of deer and antelopes.

   • 2011, Terry A. Vaughan, James M. Ryan, Nicholas J. Czaplewski, Mammalogy, 5th edition, page 228:

     Although only Dolichotis, the Patagonian mara, is strongly cursorial, all caviids have certain features typical of cursorial mammals […] .

   • 2013, R. L. Honeycutt, “Chapter 3: Phylogenetics of Caviomorph Rodents and Genetic Perspectives on the Evolution of Sociality and Mating Systems in the Caviidae”, in José Roberto Moreira, Katia Maria P.M.B. Ferraz, Emilio A. Herrera, David W. Macdonald, editors, Capybara: Biology, Use and Conservation of an Exceptional Neotropical Species‎, page 70:

     Maras (Dolichotis patagonum) are cursorial and prefer open areas with low vegetation for breeding and more barren sites for construction of communal dens (Taber and Macdonald 1992; Baldi 2007).

Derived terms

• Patagonian mara (Dolichotis patagonum)
• Chacoan mara (Dolichotis salinicola)

Translations

References

• Mara (mammal) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Dolichotis on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Dolichotis on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

See also

• mara d'atra
• terra-mara

Anagrams

• -rama, ARMA, Amar, Aram, Rama, Rāma, maar

'Are'are

Verb

mara

1. be ashamed

References

• Kateřina Naitoro, A Sketch Grammar of 'Are'are: The Sound System and Morpho-Syntax (2013)

Afar

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmara/,
• Hyphenation: ma‧ra

Noun

mára m 

1. (in compounds) people
   • Saytun Qhuraan kee kay maqnah tarjamaty Qafar afal tani [The clear Qur'an and its explanation translated into the Afar language]‎, Suurat Al-Faatica, verse 3:

     Ummaan ginoh Fulte Racmatta leeh, yeemene marah Gunê Racmatta-le Rabbi kinni.

     He surpasses the mercy of every creation, he is the God who gives mercy to the believing people.

2. (Northern dialects, in compounds) living

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

• maré (“to live; family”)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maˈra/,
• Hyphenation: ma‧ra

Verb

mara

1. first/third-person masculine singular affirmative imperfective of maré

References

• E. M. Parker, R. J. Hayward (1985) “màra”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
• Marie-Claude Simeone-Senelle, Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2013 August) “Gender, Number and Agreement in Afar (Cushitic language)”, in 43th Colloquium on African Languages and Linguistics‎, Leiden: Leiden University

Baagandji

Etymology

From Proto-Pama-Nyungan *mara.

Noun

mara

1. hand

Balinese

Romanization

mara

1. Romanization of ᬫᬭ
2. Romanization of ᬫᬵᬭ

Bambara

Noun

mara (tone màra)

1. guard
2. region, province
3. (administrative division) circle
4. savings, reserves
5. kingdom

Derived terms

Verb

mara

1. (transitive) to guard, keep, take care of
2. to manage, govern
3. to keep, raise (poultry)

Bikol Central

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *maja. Compare Maranao mara, Yogad maga, Cebuano maa and Tetum maran.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maˈɾa/,
• Hyphenation: ma‧ra

Adjective

mará (plural marara, Basahan spelling ᜋᜍ)

1. (Partido, Tabaco–Legazpi–Sorsogon) dry; arid

   Synonym: alang

   Antonyms: basa, dumog

Derived terms

Cypriot Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic اِمْرَأَة (imraʔa).

Noun

mara f (construct state mprat, plural nisfán)

1. woman
2. wife

Derived terms

References

• Borg, Alexander (2004) A Comparative Glossary of Cypriot Maronite Arabic (Arabic–English) (Handbook of Oriental Studies; I.70), Leiden and Boston: Brill, page 426

Dieri

Etymology

From Proto-Pama-Nyungan *mara.

Noun

mara

1. hand

Esperanto

Etymology

From maro +‎ -a.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• IPA^(key):
• Rhymes: -ara
• Hyphenation: mar‧a

Adjective

mara (accusative singular maran, plural maraj, accusative plural marajn)

1. sea, of or relating to the sea

Finnish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑrɑ/,
• Rhymes: -ɑrɑ
• Syllabification^(key): ma‧ra

Etymology 1

Borrowed into Western Finnish dialects from Swedish mara, which is a demon that sits on the chest of a sleeping person and causes bad dreams. This demon is known by similar names among Germanic peoples and lives in English nightmare, in Swedish mardröm (“nightmare”) and in German Nachtmahr (“nightmare”), among others.

Noun

mara

1. (folklore) nightmare, mara (demon that causes bad dreams)

   Synonym: painajainen

Declension

Etymology 2

From Spanish mará.

Noun

mara

1. mara (hare-like South American rodent of the genus Dolichotis)

Declension

Derived terms

Anagrams

• maar

Gamilaraay

Alternative forms

• mārā, márá, murra, mŭrră

Etymology

From Proto-Central New South Wales *mara, from Proto-Pama-Nyungan *mara.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maɻa/

Noun

mara

1. hand
2. finger

Quotations

• 1856, William Ridley, “On the Kamilaroi Tribe of Australians and Their Dialect”, in Journal of the Ethnological Society of London, volume 4:

  Hand . . . mārā
  Fingers . . mŭrră.

  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

• 1856, William Ridley, gurre kamilaroi, or Kamilaroi Sayings:

  immanuel murra kawāni miedul, goe, “miēdūl waria.”
  Immanuel by hand took the girl, said “damsel arise”.

  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

• 1873, William Ridley, Australian Languages and Traditions, in The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, volume 2:

  Hand|murra

• 1903, R. H. Mathews, Languages of the Kamilaroi and Other Aboriginal Tribes of New South Wales, in The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, volume 33:

  Hand .... ....|murra

References

• Barry Alpher Proto-Pama-Nyungan etyma, in Australian Languages: Classification and the Comparative Method, edited by Claire Bowern and Harold Koch (Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2004)
• Peter Austin, A Reference Dictionary of Gamilaraay, northern New South Wales (1993)

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology

From Portuguese amarrar. Cognate with Kabuverdianu mára.

Verb

mara

1. to tie

Icelandic

Verb

mara (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative maraði, supine marað)

1. to float under the surface

Conjugation

Noun

mara f (genitive singular möru, nominative plural mörur)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Declension

Further reading

• “mara” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Hyphenation: ma‧ra

Etymology 1

From Sanskrit मार (māra, “slaughter, destruction”).

Noun

mara (first-person possessive maraku, second-person possessive maramu, third-person possessive maranya)

1. calamity, danger

   Synonyms: bahala, bahaya, bala, bencana, cobaan, dakiat, keapesan, kecelakaan, kegagalan, kemaharan, kemalangan, kemudaratan, kerugian, kesialan, malapetaka, mara

Synonyms

• bahaya
• bencana
• malapetaka

Etymology 2

Unknown

Verb

mara

1. to go

Etymology 3

From Sanskrit कोट (koṭa, “fort, shed, hut”) +‎ मार (māra, “killing, destroying”).

Noun

mara (first-person possessive maraku, second-person possessive maramu, third-person possessive maranya)

1. Alternative spelling of kotamara (“a kind of naval defensive structure”).

Further reading

• “mara” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Noun

mara f

1. inflection of muir (“sea”):
   1. genitive singular
   2. plural

Conjunction

mara

1. Cois Fharraige form of mura (“if... not, unless”)

Mutation

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “mara”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Entries containing “mara” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.
• Entries containing “mara” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.

Japanese

Romanization

mara

1. Rōmaji transcription of まら

Kaurna

Etymology

From Proto-Pama-Nyungan *mara.

Noun

mara

1. hand

Derived terms

• marawardli (“palm”)
• marawaka (“cupped hands”)

Laz

Conjunction

mara

1. Latin spelling of მარა (mara)

Maltese

Etymology

From Arabic اِمْرَأة (imraʔa, “woman; wife”). Formally, a backformation from the latter’s definite form اَلْمَرْأة (al-marʔa) as in most modern Arabic dialects.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈma.ra/

Noun

mara f (construct state mart or (archaic) mrat, plural nisa, masculine raġel or żewġ)

1. woman
2. wife
3. female (of an animal)

Inflection

Derived terms

Mangarevan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *mala, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *malaŋ.

Verb

mara

1. (stative) be unhappy, dispirited

Further reading

• A Dictionary of Mangareva

Mapudungun

Noun

mara (Raguileo spelling)

1. rabbit
2. hare

References

• Wixaleyiñ: Mapucezugun-wigkazugun pici hemvlcijka (Wixaleyiñ: Small Mapudungun-Spanish dictionary), Beretta, Marta; Cañumil, Dario; Cañumil, Tulio, 2008.

Maranao

Etymology

Akin to Tetum maran.

Adjective

mara

1. dry

Martuthunira

Etymology

From Proto-Ngayarda *mara, from Proto-Pama-Nyungan *mara.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maɻa/

Noun

mara

1. hand

References

• Barry Alpher Proto-Pama-Nyungan etyma, in Australian Languages: Classification and the Comparative Method, edited by Claire Bowern and Harold Koch (Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2004)
• Dench, Alan Charles. 1995. Martuthunira: A Language of the Pilbara Region of Western Australia. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. Series C-125.

Ngiyambaa

Etymology

From Proto-Pama-Nyungan *mara.

Noun

mara

1. hand

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• maren m

Noun

mara f

1. definite singular of mare

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

mara f (definite singular mara, indefinite plural marer or maror, definite plural marene or marone)

1. (pre-2012) alternative form of mare
2. definite singular of mare

Verb

mara (present tense marar, past tense mara, past participle mara, passive infinitive marast, present participle marande, imperative mara/mar)

1. Alternative form of mare

Anagrams

• amar, arma

Nyunga

Alternative forms

• marra
• maar (eastern dialect)

Etymology

From Proto-Pama-Nyungan *mara.

Noun

mara

1. (northern dialect) hand

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *maiʀō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑːrɑ/

Adjective

māra

1. more
2. greater
   • c. 992, Ælfric, "Midlent Sunday"

     Māre wundor is þæt God Ælmihtig ǣlce dæġ fēt ealne middangeard,...

     A greater miracle it is that God Almighty every day feeds all the world,...

Declension

Descendants

• Middle English: more, mare, moore
  • English: more
  • Geordie English: mair
  • Scots: mair
  • Yola: mo', more

Old Norse

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *marǭ.

Noun

mara f (genitive mǫru)

1. nightmare, incubus

Declension

Descendants

• Danish: mare c
• Icelandic: mara f
• Norwegian Nynorsk: mare f
• Norwegian Bokmål: mare m or f
• Swedish: mara c

Etymology 2

Probably related to marr m (“sea”).

Verb

mara

1. to be waterlogged, float low in the water

   marði þá undir þeim skipit

Conjugation

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

mara

1. genitive plural of marr
2. genitive plural of marr

References

• "mara", in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Pali

Alternative forms

Verb

mara

1. second-person singular imperative active of marati (“to die”)

Panyjima

Etymology

From Proto-Ngayarda *mara, from Proto-Pama-Nyungan *mara.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maɻa/

Noun

mara

1. hand

References

• Barry Alpher Proto-Pama-Nyungan etyma, in Australian Languages: Classification and the Comparative Method, edited by Claire Bowern and Harold Koch (Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2004)
• Dench, Alan. 1991. ‘Panyjima’. R.M.W. Dixon, Barry J. Blake (eds.) The Handbook of Australian Languages, Volume 4. Melbourne: Oxford University Press Australia, 125–244.

Papiamentu

Etymology

From Portuguese amarrar and Spanish amarrar and Kabuverdianu mára.

The Portuguese word comes from Dutch aanmeren.

Verb

mara

1. to tie

Polish

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Mare_(folklore)

Wikipedia

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *mara. Compare English mare, German Mahr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈma.ra/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ara
• Syllabification: ma‧ra

Noun

mara f

1. (literary) A dream, nightmare.
2. (Slavic mythology) A creature believed to drain sleeping people of their blood or energy; wight, mare.

Declension

Descendants

• → Belarusian: ма́ра (mára)

See also

• zmora

Further reading

• mara in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• mara in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Wanda Decyk-Zięba, editor (2018-2022), “mara”, in Dydaktyczny Słownik Etymologiczno-historyczny Języka Polskiego [A Didactic, Historical, Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish), →ISBN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Homophone: Mara

Etymology 1

Adjective

mara (invariable)

1. (Brazil, slang) Clipping of maravilhoso.
   • Carmen Pimentel (quoting “Siba”), Comunidades virtuais, comunidades linguísticas in 2015, Idioma, n. 29, page 192:

     Hum 700 g a menos tá mara!

     Some 700 fewer grams would be great!

   • 2018, Valentina Schulz, O Diário da Valen: Confissões de um ano inesquecível, Editora Alto Astral, page 61:

     O importante é que a pizza estava mara e conseguimos estudar e jogar um pouco de Xbox (perdi feio, só pra constar).

     The important thing is that the pizza was great and we were able to study and play some Xbox (I lost badly, just so you know).

   • 2019, Wagner Fontoura, O Cozinheiro de Bangu, Nau Editora, page 144:

     Arthur, o negócio aqui tá mara!

     Arthur, things are awesome here!

Etymology 2

From Spanish mara.

Noun

mara f (plural maras)

1. mara (Central American street gang)

Etymology 3

Verb

mara

1. inflection of marar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Rapa Nui

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *mala, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *malaŋ.

Verb

mara

1. to start rotting, going bad

Noun

mara

1. lump, bruise (from a blow)

Further reading

• Rapanui-English Dictionary

Scottish Gaelic

Noun

mara f sg

1. genitive singular of muir (“sea, ocean”)

Mutation

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaɾa/
• Rhymes: -aɾa
• Syllabification: ma‧ra

Etymology 1

Clipping of marabunta.

Noun

mara f (plural maras)

1. (colloquial) people in one's in-group, crew, gang, squad

   Cariño, hoy en la noche saldré con la mara de la empresa. ― Honey, tonight I'm going out with the crew from work.

2. (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico) criminal gang

   Synonym: pandilla

   A mediados de 2012, se acordó una tregua entre las maras salvadoreñas y el gobierno local. ― In mid-2012, a truce was orchestrated between Salvadorian gangs and the local government.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Noun

mara f (plural maras)

1. Patagonian mara (Dolichotis patagonum)

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Tamil மரம் (maram, “tree”) (occurring in the names of many woods).

Noun

mara f (plural maras)

1. Calophyllum calaba

Etymology 4

Noun

mara f (plural maras)

1. Obsolete form of maga (“Thespesia grandiflora”).

Further reading

• “mara”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Swahili

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic مَرَّة (marra).

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya)

  (file)

Noun

mara (n class, plural mara)

1. time (used to form adverbial numbers, as in "one time" (i.e. once))

Usage notes

• See Appendix:Swahili numbers#Adverbial numbers.

Derived terms

• mara kwa mara (“from time to time, occasionally”)
• mara moja (“once; immediately, right away”)

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²mɑːra/
• Rhymes: -²ɑːra

Etymology 1

From Old Norse mara, from Proto-Germanic *marǭ; cognate to Old English mare or mære.

Noun

mara c

1. a mythological creature blamed for giving people nightmares

Declension

Derived terms

• nattmara
• satmara

Etymology 2

Noun

mara c

1. Clipping of maratonlopp n (“marathon race”).

Declension

References

• mara in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• mara in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• mara in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• aram., arma, rama

Welsh

Pronunciation

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈmara/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈmaːra/, /ˈmara/

Noun

mara

1. Nasal mutation of bara (“bread”).

Mutation

Yámana

Verb

mara

1. hear

Synonyms

• muS