MARBLE


Meaning of MARBLE in English

/ ˈmɑːbl; NAmE ˈmɑːrbl/ noun

1.

[ U ] a type of hard stone that is usually white and often has coloured lines in it. It can be polished and is used in building and for making statues, etc. :

a slab / block of marble

a marble floor / sculpture

2.

[ C ] a small ball of coloured glass that children roll along the ground in a game

3.

marbles [ U ] a game played with marbles :

Three boys were playing marbles.

4.

marbles [ pl. ] ( informal ) a way of referring to sb's intelligence or mental ability :

He's losing his marbles (= he's not behaving in a sensible way) .

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WORD ORIGIN

Middle English : via Old French (variant of marbre ), from Latin marmor , from Greek marmaros shining stone, associated with marmairein to shine.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.