Mär

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mar", maer, and mær

German

Etymology 1

From Middle High German mære, from Old High German mārī, ultimately from the adjective māri (“well known, famous”), from Proto-West Germanic *mārī, from Proto-Germanic *mērijaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛːr/, [mɛ(ː)ɐ̯], [meːɐ̯]

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Mär
• Homophones: Meer, mehr (many speakers)

Noun

Mär f (genitive Mär, plural (now rare) Mären, diminutive Märchen n or Märlein n)

1. (higher register) an often repeated untruth, a fable, a false narrative

   die Mär von Massenvernichtungswaffen im Irak

   the fable of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq

2. (archaic) tale, fairytale, fable
3. (archaic) tidings, news

   Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her, ich bring euch gute neue Mär.

   From heaven above I come to bring you good new tidings.

Usage notes

• The sense “tidings” remains current only in the above-given line from a popular Christmas carol. The sense “fairytale” is continued by the diminutive Märchen, which see.

Declension

Declension of Mär [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Mär	die	Mären
genitive	einer	der	Mär	der	Mären
dative	einer	der	Mär	den	Mären
accusative	eine	die	Mär	die	Mären

Alternative forms

• Märe (rare, dated)

Etymology 2

From the first three letters.

Noun

Mär m (invariable)

1. abbreviation of März

   Coordinate terms: Jan, Feb/Febr, Apr, (Mai), Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep/Sept, Okt, Nov, Dez

Usage notes

• This form is only used in a system that allows exactly three letters per month. There is an alternative system that allows three or four letters; in this case März will not be abbreviated.

Alternative forms

• Mär.

References

• “Mär” in Duden online
• “Mär”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[1] (in German)