Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “marring” come from?

Marring derives from Middle English -ing attached to Old English mar, from Proto-Indo-European mers- meaning to harm or damage.

marring (English): present participle of mar: ruining, thwarting,...

Definitions

  1. present participle of mar: ruining, thwarting,...

Ancestry of “marring”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ingUsed to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,...
2Old English-ingForming nouns from verbs, indicating action,...
3Old English-tūn—
4Old Englishtūnenclosure, yard; place; dwelling
5Proto-West Germanictūnfence
6Proto-Germanictūnąfence; enclosure
7Gaulishdunumfort; hill, hillfort
8Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
9Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze

Words derived from “marring”

  • nonmarring
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- →