Lakes of the Lake District: Difference between revisions

===Mere===

'''Mere''': Pool, small lake, pond. From Old English ''mere'' meaning "sea, ocean; lake, pool, pond, cistern," from Proto-Germanic ''mari''. Also from:

*Old Norse: ''marr''

*Old Saxon: ''meri'' → "sea"

*Middle Dutch: → ''maer'' / Dutch: ''meer'' → "lake, sea, pool"

*Old High German: ''mari'' / German: ''meer'' → "sea"

*Gothic: ''marei'' → "sea," ''mari-saiws'' → "lake"

The source of these come from the Proto-Indo-European root word ''mori'', meaning "[[Bodies of water|body of water]]." The larger sense of "sea, or arm of the sea" has been obsolete since Middle English.<ref>{{oed|title1=mere|title2=Mere|day=22|month=January|year=2022}}</ref> Mere in this instance refers to the names [[Buttermere]], [[Grasmere]], [[Windermere]], [[Kentmere]], which are recorded from the late 12th or 13th century. The term "water" is used more often for the larger of the lakes.<ref>{{whaley|411}}</ref>

===Water===

===Tarn===

'''Tarn''': Late 14c., mid-13c. in Anglo-Latin, From:

*Old Norse ''tjörn'' → "small mountain lake without visible tributaries"

*Proto-Germanic ''terno'' → possibly "water hole"

A dialectal word popularised by the Lake poets.<ref>{{oed|title1=tarn|title2=Tarn|day=22|month=January|year=2022}}</ref>

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