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mere¹

(mîr)

adj. Superlative mer·est

1. Being nothing more than what is specified: a mere child; a mere 50 cents an hour.

2. Considered apart from anything else: shocked by the mere idea.

3. Small; slight: could detect only the merest whisper.

4. Obsolete Pure; unadulterated.

[Middle English, absolute, pure, from Old French mier, pure, from Latin merus.]

mere²

(mîr)

A small lake, pond, or marsh: "Sometimes on lonely mountain meres / I find a magic bark" (Tennyson).

[Middle English, from Old English; see mori- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

-mere

suff.

Part; segment: blastomere.

[French -mĕre, from Greek meros, part; see (s)mer-² in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

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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