Where does “Mercia” come from?

Mercia derives from Old English Mierce, from Old English mearc meaning boundary or border, from Proto-West Germanic marku, from Proto-Germanic markō, from Proto-Indo-European mereg-.

Mercia (English): One of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England

Definitions

  1. One of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England

Ancestry of “Mercia”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old EnglishMiercethe Mercians
2Old Englishmearcmark, sign, character; boundary, limit
3Proto-West Germanicmarkuboundary, border
4Proto-Germanicmarkōborder, boundary; region, area
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmorǵ-edge, boundary, border; frontier, border
Every word from Proto-Indo-European morǵ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic markō →Every word from Proto-West Germanic marku →
Mercia — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer