Where does “mere” come from?

mere (Middle English) comes from Old English mere, from Old English byriġ, from Old English burh, from Old English burg, from Proto-Germanic burgz, from Proto-Indo-European bʰr̥ǵʰ-.

mere (Middle English): mare; mother; sea, lake

Definitions

  1. mare; mother; sea, lake

Ancestry of “mere”, step by step

mere traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English mere

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishmerelake; pool; sea
2Old Englishbyriġ—
3Old EnglishburhAlternative form of burg; fortress; hill
4Old Englishburgcity; town; a fortified place: stronghold, fort,...
5Proto-Germanicburgzfortification, stronghold; city
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰr̥ǵʰ-—

via Anglo-Norman meer

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Anglo-Normanmeer—
2Old Frenchmierpure, simple, complete
3Latinmerussheer, undiluted, pure

Words derived from “mere”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰr̥ǵʰ- →