Where does “Mercius” come from?
Mercius (Latin) comes from Old English Mierce, from Old English mearc, from Proto-West Germanic marku, from Proto-Germanic markō, from Proto-Indo-European morǵ- — edge, boundary, border; frontier, border.
Ancestry of “Mercius”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | Mierce | — |
| 2 | Old English | mearc | mark, sign, character; boundary, limit |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | marku | boundary, border |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | markō | border, boundary; region, area |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | morǵ- | edge, boundary, border; frontier, border |