Etymograph

English

marish

Marish comes from Middle English mareys ‘a region of marshland or swamp’, from Proto-West Germanic *mari ‘sea, lake’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mer-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mer-1‘sea, lake, wetland’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*móri2‘sea’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mari3‘lake, body of water’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mari4‘sea, lake’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*marisk5‘marsh’reconstructed
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEmariscus5
  7. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400mareis5uncertain
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mareys5‘a region of marshland or swamp’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1485marish5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *móri
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *mari
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *mari
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *marisk
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English marish
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, primum: “Thenne sir Tristram departed / and in euery place…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mer-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *móri‘sea, lake, wetland’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*móriWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *mari‘sea’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mariWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *mari‘lake, body of water’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mariWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *marisk‘sea, lake’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mariskWiktionary, English marish‘marsh’reconstructed
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEmariscusWiktionary, English marish
  7. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400mareisWiktionary, English marishuncertain
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mareysWiktionary, English marish‘a region of marshland or swamp’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1485marishWiktionary, English marish. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, primum: “Thenne sir Tristram departed / and in euery place…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *mer- ‘sea, lake, wetland’

remember, murder, mortality, mortal, nightmare, mortar, maritime, muller, morbid, submarine, mort, morn, mara, ambrosia, mariner, moribund, cormorant, marinara, 58 more

through Proto-Indo-European *móri ‘sea’

march, marine, moor, mare, marinate, maar, 15 more

through Proto-West Germanic *mari ‘sea, lake’

mere, marshy

through Proto-West Germanic *marisk ‘marsh’

marsh, 1 more

through Late Latin mariscus

morass, marais

Today it means

noun A marsh.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “marish”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *móri, Proto-Germanic *mari, Proto-West Germanic *mari, Proto-West Germanic *marisk. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *mer- / marish

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