[ˈmɛ.rʊs], [ˈmɛː.rus]
OriginTraditionally derived from a Proto-Indo-European *mer- (“to sparkle, glimmer, gleam”), and compared with Ancient Greek μαρμαίρω (marmaírō, “to flash, sparkle”), Sanskrit मरीचि (marīci, “beam, ray”), Old Irish emer, and Proto-Germanic *mērijaz (“famous”). However, De Vaan expresses skepticism at the semantic shift from "shine" → "pure", and prefers Puhvel's derivation from Proto-Indo-European *merH-o-s, from a Proto-Indo-European *merH- (“to remain, be distilled and pure”), whence Hittite [script needed] (marri, “just so, gratuitously”).
Old English āmerian (“to purify”) is a borrowing from the Latin, according to Kroonen.
- adjective, declension-1, declension-2sheer, undiluted, pure (especially of wine)
Formsmera(feminine) · merum(neuter) · merus(masculine, nominative, singular) · mera(feminine, nominative, singular) · merum(neuter, nominative, singular) · merī(masculine, nominative, plural) · merae(feminine, nominative, plural) · mera(neuter, nominative, plural) · merī(genitive, masculine, singular) · merae(feminine, genitive, singular) · merī(genitive, neuter, singular) · merōrum(genitive, masculine, plural) · merārum(feminine, genitive, plural) · merōrum(genitive, neuter, plural) · merō(dative, masculine, singular) · merae(dative, feminine, singular) · merō(dative, neuter, singular) · merīs(dative, feminine, masculine, neuter, plural) · merum(accusative, masculine, singular) · meram(accusative, feminine, singular)
Source: Wiktionary — CC BY-SA 4.0