marrow

C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /ˈmɛroʊ/ UK /ˈmærəʊ/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like mellow /l/ vs /ɹ/

Meanings

1

noun
the soft tissue inside bones; the innermost or vital part

The cold chilled him to the marrow.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the soft tissue inside... core pith essence heart kernel substance

Opposites

surface exterior

Word family

Forms marrowy

Derived forms marrowymarrowless

Related forms marrowbone

Etymology

From Old English mearg ('marrow, pith'), from Proto-Germanic *mazgą, from Proto-Indo-European *mosgʰo- ('marrow, brain'). The figurative sense 'innermost vital part' is well attested.

mearg Old English *mazgą Proto-Germanic *mosgʰo- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction

External links

# marrow

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈmɛroʊ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmærəʊ/

## Meanings
1. the soft tissue inside bones; the innermost or vital part

## Examples
- The cold chilled him to the marrow.

## Synonyms
- core
- pith
- essence
- heart
- kernel
- substance

## Antonyms
- surface
- exterior

## Derived Forms
- marrowy
- marrowless

## Related Forms
- marrowbone

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: mearg
- Root: *mazgą
- Root: *mosgʰo-

## Etymology
From Old English mearg ('marrow, pith'), from Proto-Germanic *mazgą, from Proto-Indo-European *mosgʰo- ('marrow, brain'). The figurative sense 'innermost vital part' is well attested.

## AI Etymology
Marrow comes from Old English mearg ('marrow, pith'), from Proto-Germanic *mazgą, from Proto-Indo-European *mosgʰo- ('marrow, brain'). The figurative sense 'innermost vital part' is well attested. The etymological trail includes Old English mearg, Proto-Germanic *mazgą, and Proto-Indo-European *mosgʰo-. As a noun, marrow means the soft tissue inside bones; the innermost or vital part. The same family is visible in derived forms such as marrowy and marrowless and related forms such as marrowbone.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

markdown