Marseilles

English

Etymology

From Old French Marseilles (nominative of Marseille), from Latin Massilia, Marsilia, from Ancient Greek Μασσαλία (Massalía), probably from a pre-Latin language of Italy, perhaps Ancient Ligurian mas (“spring”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɑː(ɹ)ˈseɪ/, (dated for the French city, standard for the Illinois city) /mɑː(ɹ)ˈseɪlz/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪ, -eɪlz

Proper noun

Marseilles

1. Alternative spelling of Marseille: the capital city of Bouches-du-Rhône department, France; the capital city of the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
   • 2012 March 19, David Denby, “Everybody Comes to Rick’s: “Casablanca” on the Big Screen”, in The New Yorker‎^[1], archived from the original on 30 December 2024:

     We see documentary footage (the trudging homeless) and an animated map—an inky line movies from Paris to Marseilles, from there to Oran, and finally to Casablanca, where the lucky ones escape via Lisbon and the rest “wait…and wait…and wait.”

2. A city in LaSalle County, in northern Illinois, United States.

Derived terms

• Marseilles fever
• Marseilles soap
• Marseilles vinegar

Noun

Marseilles (uncountable)

1. A kind of fabric made from two series of threads interlacing each other, thus forming a double cloth, quilted in the loom.