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marine

Etymology and origin of the English word marine

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1420
Borrowed from
Middle French marin via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin (marinus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /məˈriːn/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English maryne, borrowed from Middle French marin (“of the sea”), feminine marine,[2][3] and directly from Latin marīnus (“of the sea”),[3][4] from mare “sea”,[3][2] from Proto-Indo-European *mori- (“body of water”).[3] Latin mare is cognate with Gothic marei, German Meer, Old English mere “sea, lake” (the source of mere), Irish muir and Welsh môr.[2][5][4] It is related to mariner, maritime and mermaid.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of the sea, found in the sea: about 1420 in the OED,[7] probably 1440 in Barnhart, in a translation of Palladius,[2] the mid-15th century in Etymonline.[3] The Old English word was sǣlic.[3]

Semantic evolution

A noun marine meaning seacoast or the area by the sea is found before 1375,[2][3] and survives in marina.[2] The shipping or fleet of a country is from 1669,[2][3] and a soldier serving on a ship from 1672,[2][3] a new borrowing from French marine with no connection to the earlier noun.[2][3] Marines were at first any men serving on a ship, but from the late 17th century the word was restricted to troops trained to fight on land or sea,[6] now especially the Royal Marines or the United States Marine Corps.[6][8] Tell that to the marines, expressing disbelief, is from 1805.[3] Of painters, depicting the sea, is from 1883.[7]

Timeline

  • a. 1375 – noun, the seacoast.[2]
  • c. 1420 – adjective, of the sea.[7]
  • 1566 – of shipping or maritime affairs.[7]
  • 1669 – a country's shipping.[2]
  • 1672 – a soldier serving on a ship.[2]
  • 1805 – tell that to the marines.[3]
  • 1883 – of a painter, depicting the sea.[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Of, found in or produced by the sea: marine life.
  2. Relating to shipping or navigation: marine insurance.
  3. Relating to marines.

Noun

  1. A soldier trained to serve on land or at sea, especially a member of the Royal Marines or the United States Marine Corps.
  2. The ships or shipping of a country.
  3. A picture of a sea scene.

Word family

  • aeromarine
  • fluviomarine
  • gyrene
  • intermarine
  • nonmarine
  • semimarine
  • submarine
  • supermarine
  • marina
  • mariner
  • maritime
  • mermaid
  • mere
  • marinate

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Marine.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/marine. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·