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View synonyms for mere
mere
1[ meer ]
adjective
, superlative mer·est.
- being nothing more nor better than:
a mere pittance;
He is still a mere child.
- Obsolete.
- pure and unmixed, as wine, a people, or a language.
- fully as much as what is specified; completely fulfilled or developed; absolute.
mere
2[ meer ]
noun
- Chiefly British Dialect. a lake or pond.
- Obsolete. any body of sea water.
mere
3or mear
[ meer ]
noun
, British Dialect.
- a boundary or boundary marker.
mère
4[ mer; English mair ]
noun
, French.
, plural mères [me, r, mairz].
-mere
5- a combining form meaning “part,” used in the formation of compound words:
blastomere.
mere
1/ mɪə /
noun
- archaic.a boundary or boundary marker
-mere
2combining form
- indicating a part or division
blastomere
mere
3/ ˈmɛrɪ /
noun
- a short flat striking weapon
mere
4/ mɪə /
noun
- archaic.a lake or marsh
- obsolete.the sea or an inlet of it
mere
5/ mɪə /
adjective
- being nothing more than something specified
she is a mere child
–mere
- A suffix meaning “part” or “segment,” as in blastomere, one of the cells that form a blastula.
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Derived Forms
- -meric, combining_form:in_adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of mere1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English mer(e) “pure, clear, unmixed,” from Old French mier, mer, from Latin merus “pure, unmixed, simple, mere”
Origin of mere2
First recorded before 900; Middle English mere, mer, meire, Old English mer, mære “sea, ocean, lake, pond, well, cistern,” cognate with German Meer, Old Norse marr, Gothic marei, Old Irish muir, Latin mare
Origin of mere3
First recorded before 900; Middle English mere, mer, merre, Old English mǣre, gemǣre; cognate with Old Norse mæri “boundary, border land”; akin to Latin mūrus “defensive wall, city wall, boundary wall”
Origin of mere4
Combining form representing Greek méros
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Word History and Origins
Origin of mere1
Old English gemǣre
Origin of mere2
from Greek meros part, portion
Origin of mere3
Māori
Origin of mere4
Old English mere sea, lake; related to Old Saxon meri sea, Old Norse marr, Old High German mari; compare Latin mare
Origin of mere5
C15: from Latin merus pure, unmixed
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Synonym Study
Mere, bare imply a scant sufficiency. They are often interchangeable, but mere frequently means no more than (enough). Bare suggests scarcely as much as (enough). Thus a mere livelihood means enough to live on but no more; a bare livelihood means scarcely enough to live on.
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