mare

B1 Topic:Animals

US /mɛr/ UK /mɛə/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like mell /l/ vs /r/

Meanings

1

noun
a female horse or other equine animal

The mare galloped across the field.
2

noun
a large, dark plain on the moon or Mars

The Apollo missions landed on the lunar mare.
3

noun
(informal, UK) a difficult or unpleasant situation

He had a complete mare trying to fix the car.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a female horse or other... fillybroodmaredam nag

2 noun · a large, dark plain on the... lunar plainmoon plainlunar sea

3 noun · (informal, uk) a difficult... hassle bother nuisance ordeal trouble

Opposites

stallion colt

Word family

Forms mares

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

Money makes the mare go

Simplified etymology

Mare comes from Old English mere, related to Old English mearh “horse.” Both belong to a Germanic word group with Celtic relatives meaning “stallion”; the corresponding English sense “male horse” disappeared at the end of the Middle English period.

Etymology

The 'sea/lunar plain' sense traces from PIE mari- ('body of water') through Latin and Old English mare ('sea; lake') to modern English. The 'female horse' sense has a separate etymological origin in Old English.

Topics

Animals Register & Style

External links

# mare

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /mɛr/
**IPA (UK):** /mɛə/

## Meanings
1. a female horse or other equine animal
2. a large, dark plain on the moon or Mars
3. (informal, UK) a difficult or unpleasant situation

## Examples
- The mare galloped across the field.
- The Apollo missions landed on the lunar mare.
- He had a complete mare trying to fix the car.

## Synonyms
- filly
- broodmare
- dam
- nag
- lunar plain
- moon plain
- hassle
- bother
- nuisance
- ordeal
- trouble

## Antonyms
- stallion
- colt

## Etymology
The 'sea/lunar plain' sense traces from PIE mari- ('body of water') through Latin and Old English mare ('sea; lake') to modern English. The 'female horse' sense has a separate etymological origin in Old English.

## AI Etymology
Mare is the 'sea/lunar plain' sense traces from PIE mari- ('body of water') through Latin and Old English mare ('sea; lake') to modern English. The 'female horse' sense has a separate etymological origin in Old English. In current use it is a noun meaning "a female horse or other equine animal". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The history is mainly one of transmission into English, with the older form and sense carried through borrowing or adaptation. For dictionary purposes, the important point is the continuity between the older form, the route into English, and the present lexical sense.

## Topics
- Animals
- Register & Style

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