mare 1
/mair/ , n.
a fully mature female horse or other equine animal.
[ bef. 900; ME, var. of mere, OE m ( i ) ere; c. D merrie, G Mähre, ON merr; akin to OE mearh, ON marr, Ir marc horse. See MARSHAL ]
mare 2
/mair/ , n. Obs.
nightmare (def. 3).
[ bef. 900; ME, OE; c. G Mahre, ON mara. See NIGHTMARE ]
mare 3
/mahr"ay, mair"ee/ , n. , pl. maria /mahr"ee euh, mair"-/ . Astron.
any of the several large, dark plains on the moon and Mars: Galileo believed that the lunar features were seas when he first saw them through a telescope.
[ 1680-90; ]