See Also:

petrel (oh) and mar(2) (iou)


petrel (oh)



[Date: 1600-1700; Origin: Perhaps from Saint Peter]
a black and white sea bird

mar(2) (iou)



mar verb. [m¨»:] Infl. -rr-.
[Old English merran, (West Saxon) mierran = Old Frisian meria, Old Saxon merrian hinder (Dutch marren fasten, tie up, loiter), Old High German marren, merren hinder, Old Norse merja bruise, crush, Gothic marzjan cause to stumble (translating Greek skandalizein).]
verb trans. Hinder, interrupt, or stop (a person, event, etc.). obsolete exc. Scot. OE.
verb trans. Damage so as to render useless, ruin, impair the quality. Now chiefly, detract from or impair the perfection of, disfigure. OE.
make or mar: see MAKE verb.
R. W. Hamilton The vessel is so marred that it cannot be repaired. W. S. Maugham Not a wrinkle marred the smoothness of her skin. D. Lodge She led a busy, enjoyable life, only slightly marred by occasional twinges of anxiety. D. Fraser Brooke, complete with a streaming cold which had marred the weekend. P. Lomas His interesting ideas are rather marred by a self-indulgent..style.
b. verb intrans. Deteriorate, spoil. ME-E17.
a. verb intrans. Be or become bewildered or confused. OE-E16.
b. verb trans. Confuse, bewilder; trouble; annoy. Long obsolete exc. Scot. ME.
verb trans.
a. Do bodily harm to. arch. ME.
b. fig. Ruin (a person, a person's fortunes, etc.); ruin morally, corrupt. Now only (dial.), spoil (a child) by indulgence. ME.
Comb.: mar resistance, mar-resistant adjective resistance, resistant, to loss of gloss by abrasion.