marre French · revision 38612

+ {{infobox|confidence=disputed|formation=back-formation|attested=1881, Esnault}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /maʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''marre''' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+ First recorded as ''maré'' (1881), then ''mar'' (1895) and ''marre'' (1896).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The origin is uncertain.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The TLFi and Rey's DHLF think it most likely a back-formation from the old verb [[marrer|alt=se marer]], “to be bored”, rather than from [[fro|marrir|t=to grieve, afflict]];^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Old French had related nouns of similar meaning, such as [[m|fro|marrement|t=grief, displeasure]], [[m|fro|marrissement|t=displeasure]] and [[m|fro|marance|t=affliction, minor fault]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Bloch and Wartburg instead make it the verbal noun of the second verb, used reflexively for “to be bored” and in Old French for “to grieve”, and the GLLF a back-formation from the first, in its old sense “to be bored”.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ Pierre Guiraud connected it with the family of [[marelle]], through Old and Middle French forms such as [[m|fro|merel]] and [[m|frm|méreau]], which named tokens used as money or for counting: from “token giving one's share” would come a phrase meaning “to have one's share”, that is, to have had enough; the TLFi finds this not wholly convincing.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The Petit Robert also mentions [[es|marearse|t=to feel seasick]], from [[m|es|mar|t=sea]],^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Grand Robert 2005) while an Arabic origin, sometimes proposed, is supported by no text from North Africa.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Gaston Esnault records ''maré'' “enough” as an adverb in 1881, and in 1883 the phrase ''j'en ai maré'', where it is a noun expressing disgust.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''J'en ai maré'' was followed by ''j'en ai mar'' “I am exasperated” (1895) and by the exclamation ''marre !'' (1896), recorded in Delesalle's slang dictionary.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The impersonal ''il y en a marre'' and ''c'est marre !'' “that's enough” appear at the beginning of the 20th century.^(GLLF 1989) The word lives almost only in the phrase ''en avoir marre''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ The related verb [[marrer|alt=se marrer]] was first a slang word for “to be bored” (1886), then, by antiphrasis, “to split one's sides laughing” (1920), and gave [[marrant]] “funny” (1920).^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1881 – ''Maré'' “enough” recorded by Esnault.^(TLFi)

+ * 1883 – ''J'en ai maré'', expressing disgust.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1895 – ''J'en ai mar'' “I am exasperated”.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1896 – The spelling ''marre'' in Delesalle's slang dictionary.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1916 – Barbusse writes ''J'en ai marre'' in ''Le Feu''.^(TLFi)

+ * Early 20th century – ''Il y en a marre'', ''c'est marre !''.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # ''(familiar)'' Only in ''en avoir marre (de)'': to be [[m|en|fed up]] (with), to have had [[m|en|enough]] (of).^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(familiar)'' ''(Il) y en a marre'', ''c'est marre'': that's enough, it can't go on.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(familiar)'' As an exclamation, ''marre !'': enough!^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[marrer]]

+ * [[marrant]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate, regional word ''marre'' (feminine) is a vine-grower's [[m|en|hoe]], used chiefly in the Centre and West of France; it is recorded from 1265 and comes from [[la|marra|t=a kind of hoe]], like [[it|marra]] and [[es|marra]].^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(REW 1935|5370)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}