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mar·ble (märbəl)
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n.
1.
a. A metamorphic rock formed by alteration of limestone or dolomite, often irregularly colored by impurities, and used especially in architecture and sculpture.
b. A piece of this rock.
c. A sculpture made from this rock.
2. Something resembling or suggesting metamorphic rock, as in being very hard, smooth, or cold: a heart of marble; a brow of marble.
3. Games
a. A small hard ball, usually of glass, used in children's games.
b. marbles (used with a sing. verb) Any of various games played with marbles.
4. marbles Slang Common sense; sanity: completely lost his marbles after the stock market crash.
5. Marbling.
tr.v. mar·bled, mar·bling, mar·bles
To mottle and streak (paper, for example) with colors and veins in imitation of marble.
adj.
1. Composed of metamorphic rock: a marble hearth.
2. Resembling metamorphic rock in consistency, texture, venation, color, or coldness.
[Middle English marbre, marble, from Old French marbre, from Latin marmor, from Greek marmaros, of unknown origin.]
marbly adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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