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mere
16 dictionary results for: Mere
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
mere1       [meer] Pronunciation Key
–adjective, superlative mer·est.
1.being nothing more nor better than: a mere pittance; He is still a mere child.
2.Obsolete.
a.pure and unmixed, as wine, a people, or a language.
b.fully as much as what is specified; completely fulfilled or developed; absolute.
[Origin: 1250–1300; ME < L merus pure, unmixed, mere]

—Synonyms 1. 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
mere2       [meer] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.Chiefly British Dialect. a lake or pond.
2.Obsolete. any body of sea water.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME, OE; c. G Meer, ON marr, Goth marei, OIr muir, L mare]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
mere3       [meer] Pronunciation Key
–noun British Dialect.
a boundary or boundary marker.
Also, mear.

[Origin: bef. 900; ME; OE (ge)mǣre; c. ON mǣri; akin to L mūrus wall, rim]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
mère       [mer; Eng. mair] Pronunciation Key
–noun, plural mères       [mer; Eng. mairz] Pronunciation Key. French.
mother.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
mere 1       (mîr)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.   Superlative mer·est
  1. Being nothing more than what is specified: a mere child; a mere 50 cents an hour.
  2. Considered apart from anything else: shocked by the mere idea.
  3. Small; slight: could detect only the merest whisper.
  4. Obsolete Pure; unadulterated.


[Middle English, absolute, pure, from Old French mier, pure, from Latin merus.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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mere 2       (mîr)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   A small lake, pond, or marsh: "Sometimes on lonely mountain meres/I find a magic bark" (Tennyson).


[Middle English, from Old English; see mori- in Indo-European roots.]

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mere 3       (mîr)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   Archaic
A boundary.


[Middle English, from Old English mǣre.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
mere  (adj.)
c.1400, "unmixed," from O.Fr. mier "pure, entire," from L. merus "unmixed, pure, bare," used of wine, probably originally "clear, bright," from PIE *mer- "to gleam, glimmer, sparkle" (cf. O.E. amerian "to purify," O.Ir. emer "not clear," Skt. maricih "ray, beam," Gk. marmarein "to gleam, glimmer"). Original sense of "nothing less than, absolute" (1536, now only in vestiges such as mere folly) existed for centuries alongside opposite sense of "nothing more than" (1581, e.g. a mere dream).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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mere  (n.)
O.E. mere "sea, lake, pool, pond," from P.Gmc. *mari (cf. O.N. marr, O.S. meri "sea," Du. meer "lake," O.H.G. mari, Ger. Meer "sea," Goth. marei "sea," mari-saiws "lake"), from PIE *mori-/*mari "sea" (cf. L. mare, O.C.S. morje, Rus. more, Lith. mares, O.Ir. muir, Welsh mor "sea," Gaulish Are-morici "people living near the sea").

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
mere

adjective
1. being nothing more than specified; "a mere child" 
2. apart from anything else; without additions or modifications; "only the bare facts"; "shocked by the mere idea"; "the simple passage of time was enough"; "the simple truth" [syn: bare] 

noun
1. a small pond of standing water 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Eagles Mere, PA (borough, FIPS 20648) Location: 41.40972 N, 76.58332 W
Population (1990): 123 (323 housing units)
Area: 5.3 sq km (land), 0.5 sq km (water)

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Mere

Mere\, n. [Written also mar.] [OE. mere, AS. mere mere, sea; akin to D. meer lake, OS. meri sea, OHG. meri, mari, G. meer, Icel. marr, Goth. marei, Russ. more, W. mor, Ir. & Gael. muir, L. mare, and perh. to L. mori to die, and meaning originally, that which is dead, a waste. Cf. Mortal, Marine, Marsh, Mermaid, Moor.] A pool or lake. --Drayton. Tennyson.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Mere

Mere\, n. [Written also meer and mear.] [AS. gem[=ae]re. [root]269.] A boundary. --Bacon.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Mere

Mere\, v. t. To divide, limit, or bound. [Obs.]

Which meared her rule with Africa. --Spenser.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Mere

Mere\, n. A mare. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Mere

Mere\, a. [Superl. Merest. The comparative is rarely or never used.] [L. merus.]

1. Unmixed; pure; entire; absolute; unqualified.

Then entered they the mere, main sea. --Chapman.

The sorrows of this world would be mere and unmixed. --Jer. Taylor.

2. Only this, and nothing else; such, and no more; simple; bare; as, a mere boy; a mere form.

From mere success nothing can be concluded in favor of any nation. --Atterbury.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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