marl

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See also: marł

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English marle, from Old French marle, from Late Latin margila, diminutive of marga (marl).[1] Doublet of marla.

Alternative forms

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Noun

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marl (countable and uncountable, plural marls)

  1. A mixed earthy substance, consisting of carbonate of lime, clay, and possibly sand, in very variable proportions, and accordingly designated as calcareous, clayey, or sandy.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. [], London: [] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker []; [a]nd by Robert Boulter []; [a]nd Matthias Walker, [], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: [], London: Basil Montagu Pickering [], 1873, →OCLC:
      ... uneasie steps / Over the burning Marle, not like those steps / On Heavens Azure...
    • 1952 July, W. R. Watson, “Sankey Viaduct and Embankment”, in Railway Magazine, pages 486-487:
      Mr. Greenshields was the contractor selected to build the embankment, and over a hundred thousand tons of marl and moss compacted with brushwood were used in its construction.
    • 1955, Robert Herman Bogue, The chemistry of portland cement, page 39:
      Important marl and marine-shell deposits are worked in Michigan, Virginia, and Florida.
    • 1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 231:
      The surroundings were unearthly. It was not a fish setting—only bare rock, no trees, pungent sagebrush, and marl dust floating when a truck passed.
    • 2004, Peter Porter, “Why Did Dante Pick on Suicides”, in Afterburner:
      Those loved unhappy shades whom Dante turned / To sticks and marl
Derived terms
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Translations
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See also
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Verb

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marl (third-person singular simple present marls, present participle marling, simple past and past participle marled)

  1. (transitive) To cover with the earthy substance called marl.

Etymology 2

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Verb

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marl (third-person singular simple present marls, present participle marling, simple past and past participle marled)

  1. (nautical) To cover, as part of a rope, with marline, marking a peculiar hitch at each turn to prevent unwinding.
    Synonym: marline
Translations
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Etymology 3

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Borrowed from Nyunga maarl.[2]

Noun

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marl (plural marls)

  1. (Australia) A species of bandicoot, Perameles myosurus, of southern Western Australia.
    Synonym: western barred bandicoot

References

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  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “marl”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
  2. ^ The Macquarie Dictionary https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au

Anagrams

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Middle English

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Noun

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marl

  1. Alternative form of marle