march
English has a verb march, “to walk in step”, and a noun march, “borderland”,[1][2] besides the name of the month, March.[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA: UK /mɑːtʃ/, US /mɑːrtʃ/[3]
march1 walk in step
Etymology
To walk in step is inherited from Middle English marchen, borrowed from Middle French marcher (“to march, walk”),[2][4][5] from marchier (“to trample, tread underfoot”),[2][4][5] a word of uncertain origin.[4] Barnhart, the AHD and Merriam-Webster derive it from a Germanic source, Frankish *markōn (“to mark out”), related to mark;[2][6][5] Hoad and the SOED prefer a Gallo-Romance verb *marcāre (“to hammer”), from Late Latin marcus (“hammer”), with the idea of tramping the feet.[7][8][4] Italian marciare and Spanish marchar are said to come from the French.[4]
Earliest recorded meaning
To walk with measured steps, singly or as a body: about 1410[2] or the early 15th century.[4] The earliest sense of the noun was “footprint, track”, from Old French, in the early 15th century.[4][8]
Semantic evolution
The transitive sense “to cause to march, move in military order” is from the 1590s,[4] and “to make someone go somewhere at one's command” by 1884.[4] The noun meant a rhythmic drumbeat for marching about 1572,[2][9] and the act of marching from 1590;[2][10] a piece of music in march time is from about 1600[4] or 1588.[11] “An advance from one halting place to another”, and the distance so covered, is from the 1590s.[4] Forward motion in general (the march of progress) is from the 1620s,[4] and the march of intellect was a common phrase from 1775.[10] To march in a protest is from the mid-20th century.[8]
Timeline
- c. 1410 – to walk in step.[2]
- early 15th century – noun, a track or footprint.[4]
- c. 1572 – noun, a drumbeat for marching.[2]
- 1590 – noun, the act of marching.[2][10]
- 1590s – verb, to make troops march.[4]
- c. 1600 – a piece of music for marching.[4]
- 1620s – forward progress.[4]
- mid-20th century – to take part in a protest march.[8]
Modern meaning
Verb
- To walk steadily and rhythmically forward in step with others.
- To walk purposefully; to advance steadily.
- To take part in an organized walk, as for a protest.
- To make someone march or go somewhere.
Noun
- The act of marching, especially the advance of a body of troops.
- Steady forward movement: the march of time.
- The distance covered by marching.
- A piece of music in a regular rhythm suited to marching.
- An organized walk for a public cause.
Word family
- marcher
- countermarch
- outmarch
- route march
- steal a march on
march2 borderland
Etymology
The borderland is inherited from Middle English marche, borrowed from Old French marche (“boundary, frontier”),[2][4][8] from Frankish *marka,[2][4][7] from Proto-Germanic *markō, the source of English mark.[4][7][8] It replaced and merged with the native Old English mearc (“boundary, mark”).[2] It is related to marquis.[2][8]
Earliest recorded meaning
The border district of a country: probably before 1300, in Arthour and Merlin,[2] and as a surname in 1207;[2] Etymonline dates it to the early 13th century.[4]
Semantic evolution
In early use the word often referred to the borderlands next to Wales, and later especially to the English border with Scotland,[4] and the Marches was its earliest use in Britain.[2][4] Etymonline notes that as the old Germanic word for “border” came to mean “borderland”, other words such as border and bound took over the original sense.[4] The boundary of an estate, chiefly in Scotland, is recorded from 1540.[10] The verb “to have a common boundary with” is from about 1330[10] or probably before 1300.[2] The English Dialect Dictionary records march for a boundary line or landmark in Scotland, Ireland, Northumberland and Lincolnshire.[12]
Timeline
- 1207 – as a surname.[2]
- before 1300 – a border district (Arthour and Merlin).[2]
- c. 1330 – verb, to border on.[10]
- 1540 – the boundary of an estate (chiefly Scots).[10]
Modern meaning
Noun
- (chiefly historical) A border or frontier of a country, or a tract of land along it, often disputed.
- (the Marches) The parts of England along the border with Wales, and formerly Scotland.
Verb
- To have a common boundary; to border.
Word family
- marcher
Related words
- Marche
- marquee
- marquess
- marchioness
- marquis
- marquisate
- March
- mark
- margrave
- démarche
Usage notes
Oxford's Word Origins traces march to a different drummer to Thoreau's remark that a man who does not keep pace with his companions perhaps hears a different drummer.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
- ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)