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marten

 - 3 dictionary results

mar⋅ten

  [mahr-tn]
–noun, plural -tens, (especially collectively) -ten.
1. any of several slender, chiefly arboreal carnivores of the genus Martes, of northern forests, having a long, glossy coat and bushy tail.
2. the fur of such an animal, generally a dark brown.
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Origin:
1375–1425; < MLG, equiv. to mart marten (c. OE mearth) + -en -en 5 ; r. late ME martren < MF martrine marten fur, n. use of fem. of martrin pertaining to a marten, equiv. to martre marten (< Gmc; cf. G Marder) + -in -in 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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mar·ten   (mär'tn)   
n.   pl. marten or mar·tens

  1. Any of several principally arboreal carnivorous mammals of the genus Martes, related to the weasel, mainly inhabiting northern forests, and having a slender body, bushy tail, and soft fur.

  2. The fur of one of these carnivorous mammals.


[Middle English martrin, marten, from Old French martrine (from feminine of martrin, pertaining to the marten, from martre, marten) and from Medieval Latin martrīna, both of Germanic origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

marten 
c.1250, "skin or fur of the marten," from O.Fr. martrine, noun use of fem. adj. martrin "of or pertaining to the marten," from martre "marten," from Frank. *martar, from P.Gmc. *marthuz (cf. O.S. marthrin "of or pertaining to the marten," O.Fris. merth, O.E. mearþ, O.N. mörðr "marten"), probably from PIE *martu- "bride," perhaps on some fancied resemblance, or else a Gmc. euphemism for the real name of the animal, which may have been taboo. In M.E. the animal itself was called marter, directly from O.Fr. martre, but marten took over this sense in Eng. c.1400.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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