Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/249

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derived from the same root as Gr. μανδύας, ‘upper garment.’ The Teut. cognates are more probably based on Lat. mantellum, from which Ital. mantello and Fr. manteau are derived.

Märchen, n., ‘fairy story, tale,’ dimin. of Märe, f., from MidHG. mœre, n. and f., ‘tale, fiction, report, information,’ whence in MidHG. the dimin. mœrelîn, n., ‘short story, fairy story.’ Comp. OHG. mârî, f., mâri, n., ‘rumour, information’; an abstract from OHG. mâri (MidHG. mœre), Goth. mêrs, ‘known, famed,’ which is recorded by old historians in many OTeut. proper names in the form mêrus, mêris; akin to SIav. mĕrŭ in Vladimĕrŭ, ‘Vladimir, Waldemar,’ Gr. -μωρος in εγχεσίμωρος, ‘famed for wielding the spear,’ OIr. már, mór, ‘great, of repute’; for the compar. of this primitive adject. stem mê-ro-, see under mehr.

Marder, m., ‘marten,’ from the equiv. MidHG. marder (and mader), m., OHG. mardar, m.; allied to OIc. mǫrðr, ‘marten,’ and AS. mearþ (also meard), ‘marten, weasel’ (without the suffix r, like MidHG. mart, ‘marten’). Whether we are to assume Goth. *marþus or *marþuza remains uncertain. Yet the cognates are probably of genuine Teut. origin (from pre-Teut. martu-), to which MidLat. martus (Ital. martes), with the corresponding Rom. class also point — Ital. martora, Fr. martre, f. (whence E. marten).

Mark (1.), f., ‘marches, frontier,’ from MidHG. marc, ‘mark, token,’ OHG. marcha, f., ‘frontier, marches’; comp. OSax. marca, ‘territory,’ AS. mearc, f., ‘frontier, territory’ (E. march is not based on the AS. form, the c of which would not have changed to ch, but on OFr. marche, ‘frontier,’ which is of Teut. origin). To Goth. marka, f., ‘frontier,’ corresponds OIc. mǫrk, ‘wood,’ with a remarkable change of meaning; woods in Teut. times were often the natural boundaries between nations. The orig. meaning of the cognates of ‘frontier’ is supported by their primit. kinship with Lat. margo, ‘border,’ as well as by OIr. brú (from the prim. form *mrog), ‘border,’ Ir. bruig, W. and Corn. bro, ‘district, country, region,’ ModPers. marz, ‘frontier, marches.’ From Teut. are derived Ital. marca, Fr. marche, ‘frontier.’ See Mark (2) and Marke.

Mark (2.), f., ‘mark’ (coin), from MidHG. marc, marke, f., ‘mark, half a pound

of silver or gold’; OHG. *marka (whence MidLat. marca, which first appears in documents in the latter half of the 9th cent.), AS. and MidE. marc, OIc. mǫrk, f., ‘mark, half a pound of silver.’ Its origin is obscure; the assumption that Marke, ‘designation, sign’ (with reference to the stamp), is a cognate, is not proved, since Mark orig. denoted a definite weight, and not a particular coin.

Mark (3.), n., from the equiv. MidHG. marc (gen. marges), n., ‘marrow, pith’; the MidHG. g has been preserved in mergeln; OHG. marg, marag, n., OSax. marg, n., Du. merg, n., AS. mearg, n., E. marrow, OIc. mergr, m., ‘marrow’; in this word r is due to Goth. z, according to the law of rhotacism; Goth. *mazga- is wanting. The latter points to pre-Teut. *mazgho-, to which OSlov. mozgŭ, m., Zend mazga, Sans. majjan, ‘marrow,’ all with a normal loss of the aspirate, correspond. The root is Sans. majj, ‘to immerse,’ to which Lat. mergere is allied.

Marke, f., ‘mark, token’; from MidHG. marc (gen. markes), n., ‘sign’; comp. Du. marke, ‘mark, characteristic’; AS. mearc, n., E. mark, OIc. mark, n., ‘sign’; Goth. *mark is wanting. Whether these cognates are connected with those of Mark (1), ‘frontier, marches,’ lit. ‘border,’ is uncertain; the meaning ‘frontier,’ which was proved by the allied languages to be primitive, can scarcely be the starting point for ‘sign’; the contrary is the more probable. It has with greater reason been compared with Lith. márgas, ‘variegated.’ Comp. merken. From Teut. a Rom. class is derived; comp. Fr. marque, remarquer, &c.

Markolf, m., ‘jay,’ first occurs in early ModHG.; it has passed from the fables of animals into general use; liter. Mark-wolf, ‘boundary wolf,’ used in the OHG. period as a proper name (Marcolf). Similarly in Reineke Vos, Marquart is the name of the jay, formed from the OHG. proper name Marcwart, lit. ‘frontier guardian.’

Markt, m., ‘market, market-place,’ from MidHG. markt, market, m., ‘fair, market, market-place,’ OHG. markât, mërkât, mërchât, m.; borrowed in OHG. from the equiv. Lat. mercâtus with a G. accent; from the same source come Du. markt and E. market. ModHG. markten, vb., ‘to buy, bargain,’ from MidHG. marketen, ‘to be at the market, to bargain.’ The e of the Lat. original has been preserved in