Etymology and origin of the Latin word mariscus
mariscus1 rush; coarse fig
- Confidence
- Uncertain
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 234–149 BC, Cato
- Ultimate origin
- Proto-Italic *mari
Etymology tree of mariscus1
Pronunciation
Forms
mariscus (feminine marisca, neuter mariscum); first/second-declension adjective; as a noun mariscus m (genitive mariscī), second declension.[2][3]
Etymology
The first mariscus is perhaps from Latin mare (“sea”): de Vaan notes that it is considered obscure but may well be a derivative of the word for sea, and reconstructs the adjective as Proto-Italic *marisko-.[4] The OLD calls its origin unknown and compares marisca,[3] while the TLL and Köbler take it to be a foreign word.[5][6]
Earliest recorded meaning
Cato is the first to use it, of figs of the larger and coarser kind.[5][2][6]
Semantic evolution
As an adjective it was used of figs, and Varro, Pliny the Elder and others follow Cato.[2] Pliny also names a rush “that they call mariscus”.[5][3] The feminine marisca, used as a noun, came to mean the fig itself.[2]
Timeline
- 234–149 BC – Cato speaks of ficos mariscas.[5][6]
- 116–27 BC – Varro, as quoted by Nonius, uses it of figs.[2][6]
- 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of figs and as the name of a rush.[2][3][6]
Meanings
Adjective
Noun
Word family
- marisca
mariscus2 marsh
- Confidence
- Probable
- Formation
- Borrowing
- First attested
- 679, English charter
- Borrowed from
- Proto-Germanic *mariskō
- Ultimate origin
- Proto-Germanic *mariskō
Pronunciation
Forms
mariscus m (genitive mariscī); second declension; also mariscum, marisca, marescus and mariscium.[8][6]
Etymology
The marsh word is borrowed from Proto-Germanic *mariskō (“marsh, morass”), which Köbler compares with Proto-Indo-European *mō̆ri (“sea, lake”);[6] Niermeyer also marks it as Germanic,[8] and the DMLBS compares Old English mersc.[9] Du Cange reports that Salmasius derived it from mare, in the sense of a gathering of waters, and Somner from the Old English word.[10]
Earliest recorded meaning
The DMLBS's earliest example is an English charter of 679, granting land “with all the fields, pastures and marshes belonging to it” (cum omnibus ad se pertinentibus campis, pascuis, meriscis).[9]
Semantic evolution
It was the usual medieval word for a marsh, fen or swamp, freshwater or salt.[8][9][10] In England it entered place names and surnames (de Marisco), and it could also mean mire, and as an adjective marshy.[9]
Timeline
- 679 – An English charter grants land with its marshes.[9]
- c. 750 – A charter names a marsh called Biscopes Uuic.[9]
- 1198 – The Pipe Roll records a Henricus de Marisco.[9]
- 1276 – A road is said to have been turned into a mire.[9]
- 1329 – It is used as an adjective, terra maresca, “marshy land”.[9]
Meanings
Noun
- (Medieval Latin) A marsh, fen, swamp.[8][9][10]
- (Medieval Latin) In place names and surnames.[9]
- (Medieval Latin) Mire.[9]
Adjective
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
- ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
- ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Mariscus.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/mariscus. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.
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