*merg-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "boundary, border."

It forms all or part of: Cymric; demarcation; Denmark; emarginate; landmark; march (v.) "walk with regular tread;" march (n.2) "boundary;" marchioness; margin; margrave; mark (n.1) "trace, impression;" mark (n.2) "unit of money or weight;" marque; marquee; marquetry; marquis; remark; remarkable.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Latin margo "margin;" Avestan mareza- "border;" Old Irish mruig, Irish bruig "borderland," Welsh bro "district;" Old English mearc "boundary, sign, limit, mark," Gothic marka "boundary, frontier."

Entries linking to *merg-

Cymric (adj.)

"of or pertaining to the Welsh" and their kindred, the Cornish and Bretons, by 1833, from Welsh Cymru "Wales," Cymry "the Welsh," plural of Cymro, probably from ancient combrox "compatriot," from British Celtic *kom-brogos, from collective prefix *kom- (see com-) + *brogos "district," from PIE root *merg- "boundary, border." Compare Allobroges, name of a warlike people in Gallia Narbonensis, literally "those from another land." As from 1833 as a noun, "the language of the Cymry."

demarcation (n.)

"act of marking off limits or boundaries," 1737, from Spanish linea de demarcacion or Portuguese linha de demarcaçao, name of the line laid down by Pope Alexander VI on May 4, 1493, dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal on a line 100 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. Applied from 1801 to other lines dividing regions. From Spanish de- (see de-) + marcar "to mark the boundaries of," from a Germanic source (see mark (n.1)).

See all related words (16) >

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landmark

Old English landmearc "object set up to mark the boundaries of a kingdom, estate, etc.," from land (n.) + mearc in its sense "object which marks a boundary or limit" (see mark (n.1)). General sense of "conspicuous object which, by its known position, serves as a guide to a travel

march

"to walk with measured steps or a regular tread," either individually or as a body, early 15c., from Old French marcher "to stride, march, walk," originally "to trample, tread underfoot," a word of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Frankish *markon or some other Germanic source rela

margin

mid-14c., "edge of a sea or lake;" late 14c., of a written or printed paper, "space between a block of text and the edge of a leaf or sheet;" from Old French margin and directly from Latin marginem (nominative margo) "edge, brink, border, margin," from PIE root *merg- "boundary,

marrow

mearg "marrow," earlier mærh, from Proto-Germanic *mazga- (source also of Old Norse mergr, Old Saxon marg, Old Frisian merg..., Middle Dutch march, Dutch merg, Old High German marg, German Mark "marrow"), from PIE *mozgo- "marrow" (source also of...

mark

merke, Gothic marka "boundary, frontier," Dutch merk "mark, brand," German Mark "boundary, boundary land"), from PIE root *merg...

museum

1610s, "the university building in Alexandria," from Latin museum "library, study," from Greek mouseion "place of study, library or museum, school of art or poetry," originally "a temple or shrine of the Muses," from Mousa "Muse" (see muse (n.)). The earliest use in reference to

rogue

1560s, "idle vagrant, sturdy beggar, one of the vagabond class," a word of shadowy origin, perhaps a shortened form of roger (with a hard -g-), thieves' slang for a begging vagabond who pretends to be a poor scholar from Oxford or Cambridge, which is perhaps an agent noun in Engl

intuitive

1640s, "perceiving directly and immediately," from French intuitif or directly from Medieval Latin intuitivus, from intuit-, past-participle stem of Latin intueri "look at, consider," from in- "into" (from PIE root *en "in") + tueri "to look at, watch over," a word of uncertain o

necessary

late 14c., necessarie, "needed, required; essential, indispensable; such as must be, that cannot be otherwise; not voluntary or governed by chance or free will," from Old French necessaire "necessary, urgent, compelling" (13c.), and directly from Latin necessarius "unavoidable, i

charity

late Old English, "benevolence for the poor," also "Christian love in its highest manifestation," from Old French charité "(Christian) charity, mercy, compassion; alms; charitable foundation" (12c.), from Latin caritatem (nominative caritas) "costliness; esteem, affection," from

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updated on October 09, 2017

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