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mare
mare A large dark or low area on a planetary surface; pl.maria. The name, which means ‘sea’, is not a geological term; it was originally used in the 17th century, when the dark plains of the Moon were thought to be water, and was subsequently applied to the dark patches on Mars in the 19th century. The lunar maria are dark, smooth lowland plains of lava that erupted between the end of the late heavy bombardment 3.9 billion years ago and about 2 billion years ago. Samples of the maria have been obtained by the Apollo missions and unmanned Luna landers. The maria consist of solidified basaltic lavas, chemically and mineralogically different from the highlands, being enriched in iron and titanium, and with abundant pyroxene. The lunar mare lavas differ from those on Earth in that they were very fluid, with a viscosity similar to that of motor oil, so that they flowed for great distances. The Martian maria do not consistently correspond to any kind of topographical feature or geological province, and in most cases appear to consist of dark surface dust.
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"mare." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "mare." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-mare.html "mare." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-mare.html |
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mare
mare (pl. maria) The Latin word for ‘sea’, originally used by Galileo in 1610 to denote the smooth, grey areas on the Moon, visible to the naked eye, that are now known to be plains of basaltic lava filling circular basins excavated by planetismal impact. Basalt lavas, mainly in maria, cover 17% of the surface of the Moon, mostly on the near side. The term is also applied to low-lying areas on Mars.
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AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "mare." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "mare." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-mare.html AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "mare." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-mare.html |
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mare
mare Early ME. māre (XII), with stem-vowel from obl. cases of OE. mearh horse, finally superseding mēre, müre, OE. *mēre, *mīere. mȳre :- Gmc. *marχjōn (MLG., MDu. mer(r)ie, OHG. mar(i)ha, Du. merrie, G. mähre, ON. (merr), f. *marχaz horse (OHG. marah, ON. marr), corr. to Gaulish (acc. sg.) márkan, (O)Ir., Gaelic marc, W. march.
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T. F. HOAD. "mare." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "mare." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-mare.html T. F. HOAD. "mare." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-mare.html |
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mare
mare mare's nest an illusory discovery, originally in the phrase to have found (or spied) a mare's nest (i.e. something that does not exist), used in the sense ‘to have discovered something amazing’. The expression is recorded from the late 16th century.
See also Flanders Mare, the grey mare is the better horse, money makes the mare to go, nothing so bold as a blind mare. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "mare." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "mare." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-mare.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "mare." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-mare.html |
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mare
mare1 / me(ə)r/ • n. the female of a horse or other equine animal. |
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"mare." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "mare." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-mare005.html "mare." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-mare005.html |
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Mare
Mare , Walter de la, see de la Mare. |
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Cite this article
"Mare." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Mare." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-mare.html "Mare." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-mare.html |
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mare
mare •affair, affaire, air, Altair, Althusser, Anvers, Apollinaire, Astaire, aware, Ayer, Ayr, bare, bear, bêche-de-mer, beware, billionaire, Blair, blare, Bonaire, cafetière, care, chair, chargé d'affaires, chemin de fer, Cher, Clair, Claire, Clare, commissionaire, compare, concessionaire, cordon sanitaire, couvert, Daguerre, dare, debonair, declare, derrière, despair, doctrinaire, éclair, e'er, elsewhere, ensnare, ere, extraordinaire, Eyre, fair, fare, fayre, Finisterre, flair, flare, Folies-Bergère, forbear, forswear, foursquare, glair, glare, hair, hare, heir, Herr, impair, jardinière, Khmer, Kildare, La Bruyère, lair, laissez-faire, legionnaire, luminaire, mal de mer, mare, mayor, meunière, mid-air, millionaire, misère, Mon-Khmer, multimillionaire, ne'er, Niger, nom de guerre, outstare, outwear, pair, pare, parterre, pear, père, pied-à-terre, Pierre, plein-air, prayer, questionnaire, rare, ready-to-wear, rivière, Rosslare, Santander, savoir faire, scare, secretaire, share, snare, solitaire, Soufrière, spare, square, stair, stare, surface-to-air, swear, Tailleferre, tare, tear, their, there, they're, vin ordinaire, Voltaire, ware, wear, Weston-super-Mare, where, yeah
•Le Carré • Sierra Madre • ashtray
•mare, soirée
•padre • Castlereagh • beret • sempre
•X-ray • affairé • hairspray • respray
•Tigray • stingray • in-tray • émigré
•vertebrae
•foray, moray
•chambray, chambré, hombre, ombré
•André • osprey • entrée
•con amore, Doré, Fauré
•sucre • outré • Vouvray • bourrée
•sunray
•Desirée, Dies Irae
•curé, purée
•cabaret
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"mare." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "mare." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-mare.html "mare." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-mare.html |
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