marl

marl

See also: marł

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: mäl, IPA^(key): /mɑːl/

• Audio (UK)

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• (General American) enPR: märl, IPA^(key): /mɑɹl/
• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)l

Etymology 1

From Middle English marle, from Old French marle, from Late Latin margila, diminutive of marga (“marl”).[1]

Alternative forms

• marle

Noun

marl (countable and uncountable, plural marls)

1. A mixed earthy substance, consisting of carbonate of lime, clay, and possibly sand, in very variable proportions, and accordingly designated as calcareous, clayey, or sandy.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:

     ... uneasie steps / Over the burning Marle, not like those steps / On Heavens Azure...

   • 1955, Robert Herman Bogue, The chemistry of portland cement, page 39:

     Important marl and marine-shell deposits are worked in Michigan, Virginia, and Florida.

   • 1976, Saul Bellow, Humboldt's Gift, New York: Avon, →ISBN, page 231:

     The surroundings were unearthly. It was not a fish setting—only bare rock, no trees, pungent sagebrush, and marl dust floating when a truck passed.

   • 2004, Peter Porter, “Why Did Dante Pick on Suicides”, in Afterburner:

     Those loved unhappy shades whom Dante turned / To sticks and marl

Derived terms

Derived terms

• marlaceous
• marler
• marlite
• marlpit
• marlstone
• marly

Translations

a mixed earthy substance

Afrikaans: mergel (af) Aragonese: salagón m Armenian: մերգել (hy) (mergel), կրակավ (hy) (krakav) Azerbaijani: mergel Basque: marga, tupa (eu), tuparri Belarusian: мергель m (mjerhjelʹ) Bulgarian: мергел m (mergel) Catalan: marga (ca) f Chinese: Mandarin: 泥灰岩 (zh) (níhuīyán) Czech: slín (cs) m Danish: mergel (da) c Dutch: mergel (nl) m Esperanto: marno Estonian: mergel Finnish: merkeli (fi) French: marne (fr) f Gaulish: marga, acaunomarga Georgian: მერგელი (mergeli) German: Mergel (de) m Hungarian: márga (hu) Ido: marno (io) Indonesian: napal (id) Irish: marla f Italian: marna (it) f Japanese: 泥灰土 (でいかいど, deikaido) Kazakh: мергель (mergel) Korean: 이회암 (ihoeam) Kyrgyz: мергель (mergelʹ) Latin: marga f Limburgish: mergel Lithuanian: purmuo m, mergelis m Malagasy: sokaidîtra (mg), marna (mg) Middle English: marle Norwegian: Bokmål: mergel m Nynorsk: mergel m Polish: margiel (pl) m Portuguese: marga (pt) f Romanian: marnă (ro) f Russian: ме́ргель (ru) m (mérgelʹ) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: ла̏пор m, ла̏порац m Roman: lȁpor m, lȁporac m Slovak: slieň m, slieňovec m Slovene: lapor (sl) m Spanish: marga (es) f Swedish: märgel (sv) c Tajik: мергел (mergel) Thai: ดินสอพอง (th) (din-sŏr pong) Turkish: marn (tr) Ukrainian: ме́ргель m (mérhelʹ) Uzbek: Cyrillic: мергель (uz) (mergelь) Roman: mergel (uz) Vietnamese: macnơ Walloon: måle (wa) f

See also

• greensand

Verb

marl (third-person singular simple present marls, present participle marling, simple past and past participle marled)

1. (transitive) To cover with the earthy substance called marl.

Verb

marl (third-person singular simple present marls, present participle marling, simple past and past participle marled)

1. (nautical) To cover, as part of a rope, with marline, marking a peculiar hitch at each turn to prevent unwinding.

   Synonym: marline

Translations

to cover with marline

French: marner (fr) Italian: marnare

References

1. Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “marl”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• RAML

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Middle English

Noun

marl

1. Alternative form of marle