Nearby Words
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.
Origin:
1375–1425; < Middle Low German, equivalent to mart marten (cognate with Old English mearth) + -en -en5; replacing late Middle English martren < Middle French martrine marten fur, noun use of feminine of martrin pertaining to a marten, equivalent to martre marten (< Germanic; compare German Marder) + -in -in1
1375–1425; < Middle Low German, equivalent to mart marten (cognate with Old English mearth) + -en -en5; replacing late Middle English martren < Middle French martrine marten fur, noun use of feminine of martrin pertaining to a marten, equivalent to martre marten (< Germanic; compare German Marder) + -in -in1
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Marten
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
| marten (ˈmɑːtɪn) | |
| —n , pl -tens, -ten | |
| 1. | See also pine marten any of several agile arboreal musteline mammals of the genus Martes, of Europe, Asia, and North America, having bushy tails and golden brown to blackish fur |
| 2. | the highly valued fur of these animals, esp that of M. americana |
| [C15: from Middle Dutch martren, from Old French (peau) martrine skin of a marten, from martre, probably of Germanic origin] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
marten
mid-13c., "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"),
EXPANDprobably 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 English c.1400.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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