English
Mere
Mere comes from Old English mere ‘lake, pond’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *móri ‘sea’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*móri‘sea’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mari‘lake, body of water’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame form‘sea, lake’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150mere‘lake, pond’
- EnglishtodayMere
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*móri‘sea’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mari‘lake, body of water’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame form‘sea, lake’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150mere‘lake, pond’
- EnglishtodayMere
The story
# For the places in England: from Old English mere (‘lake, pond’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *mer- ‘sea, lake, wetland’
remember, murder, nightmare, mortality, mortal, submarine, mortar, maritime, mara, morbid, mort, morn, muller, mariner, ambrosia, moribund, marinara, cormorant, 60 more
through Proto-Indo-European *móri ‘sea’
march, marine, moor, mare, marinate, maar, 17 more
through Proto-Germanic *mari ‘lake, body of water’
through Proto-West Germanic *mari ‘sea, lake’
Today it means
name A village and civil parish in northern Cheshire East district, Cheshire, England (OS grid ref SJ7381).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *móri / Mere