different between mere vs open

English

Pronunciation

(body of water; limit; famous; just, only):

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /m??/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /m??/

(Maori war-club):

• IPA^(key): /?m??i/, /?m???/

Etymology 1

From Middle English mere, from Old English mere (“the sea; mere, lake”), from Proto-Germanic *mari, from Proto-Indo-European *móri. Cognate with West Frisian mar, Dutch meer, Low German meer, Meer, German Meer, Norwegian mar (only used in combinations, such as marbakke). Related to Latin mare, Breton mor, Russian ????? (móre). Doublet of mar and mare.

Alternative forms

• meer, meere, mear

Noun

mere (plural meres)

1. (dialectal or literary) A body of standing water, such as a lake or a pond. More specifically, it can refer to a lake that is broad in relation to its depth. Also included in place names such as Windermere.
   • 1622, Michael Drayton, Poly-Olbion song 20 p. 16[1]:

     When making for the Brooke, the Falkoner doth espie

     On River, Plash, or Mere, where store of Fowle doth lye:

   • The meres of Shropshire and Chesbire.

   • 1913, Annie S. Swan, The Fairweathers

     She loved.. to watch the lovely shadows in the silent depths of the placid mere.

   • 1955, William Golding, The Inheritors, Faber & Faber 2005, p. 194:

     Lok got to his feet and wandered along by the marshes towards the mere where Fa had disappeared.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Middle English mere, from Old English m?re, ?em?re (“boundary; limit”), from Proto-Germanic *mairij? (“boundary”), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“to fence”). Cognate with Dutch meer (“a limit, boundary”), Icelandic mærr (“borderland”), Swedish landamäre (“border, borderline, boundary”).

Alternative forms

• meer, meere, mear, meare

Noun

mere (plural meres)

1. Boundary, limit; a boundary-marker; boundary-line.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.ix:

     The Troian Brute did first that Citie found, / And Hygate made the meare thereof by West, / And Ouert gate by North: that is the bound / Toward the land; two riuers bound the rest.

Derived terms

• Hertsmere

Verb

mere (third-person singular simple present meres, present participle mering, simple past and past participle mered)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To limit; bound; divide or cause division in.
2. (intransitive, obsolete) To set divisions and bounds.
3. (cartography) To decide upon the position of a boundary; to position it on a map.

Related terms

• mereing

Etymology 3

From Middle English mere, from Old English m?re (“famous, great, excellent, sublime, splendid, pure, sterling”), from Proto-Germanic *m?rijaz, *m?raz (“excellent, famous”), from Proto-Indo-European *m?ros (“large, handsome”). Cognate with Middle High German mære (“famous”), Icelandic mærr (“famous”), and German Mär, Märchen ("fairy tale").

Alternative forms

• meere, mare

Adjective

mere (comparative more mere, superlative most mere)

1. (obsolete) Famous.

Etymology 4

From Anglo-Norman meer, from Old French mier, from Latin merus. Perhaps influenced by Old English m?re (“famous, great, excellent, sublime, splendid, pure, sterling”), or conflated with Etymology 3.

Adjective

mere (comparative merer, superlative merest)

1. (obsolete) Pure, unalloyed [8^th-17^thc.].
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.8:

     So oft as I this history record, / My heart doth melt with meere compassion […].
2. (obsolete) Nothing less than; complete, downright [15^th-18^thc.].
   • 1751, Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, vol I, ch. 35:

     This freedom of expostulation exalted his mother's ire to meer frenzy […] .

3. Just, only; no more than, pure and simple, neither more nor better than might be expected. [from 16^thc.]

   • Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; […].

Derived terms

• merely

Translations

Etymology 5

Borrowed from Maori mere (“more”).

Noun

mere (plural meres)

1. A Maori war-club.
   • 2000, Errol Fuller, Extinct Birds, Oxford 2000, p. 41:

     As Owen prepared to dismiss the matter, Rule produced something that really caught the great man's eye – a greenstone mere, the warclub of the Maori.

Anagrams

• Emer., REME, erme, meer, reem

Afrikaans

Noun

mere

1. plural of meer

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse meiri (“more”), from Proto-Germanic *maizô.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /me?r?/, [?me??]

Adjective

mere

1. more; to a higher degree

   Han er mere højtidelig end jeg er.

   He is more solemn than I am.

2. more; in greater quantity

   I har mere plads end jeg har.

   You have more space than I do.

Usage notes

"Mere", in the second sense, is only used with uncountable nouns. For countable nouns, use flere.

Estonian

Noun

mere

1. genitive singular of meri

Italian

Adjective

mere f

1. feminine plural of mero

Anagrams

• erme

Latin

Verb

mer?

1. second-person singular present active imperative of mere?

References

• mere in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• mere in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

Middle Dutch

Etymology 1

From Old Dutch m?ro, from Proto-Germanic *maizô.

Adjective

mêre

2. greater, larger

   Antonym: minre

3. older

   Antonym: minre

Inflection

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

Determiner

mêre

1. more

   Antonym: minre

Descendants

• Dutch: meer

Adverb

mêre

1. Alternative form of mêe

Etymology 2

From Old Dutch meri, from Proto-Germanic *mari, from Proto-Indo-European *móri.

Noun

m?re f or n

2. lake (fresh water)
3. sea (salt water)

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Dutch: meer
  • Afrikaans: meer
• Limburgish: maer

Further reading

• “mere (I)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• “mere (III)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929) , “mere (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, ?ISBN, page I
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929) , “mere (VIII)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, ?ISBN, page VIII

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French mere medre, from Latin m?ter, m?trem.

Noun

mere f (plural meres)

1. mother (female family member)

Descendants

• French: mère
  • Haitian Creole: mè

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *mari, from Proto-Indo-European *móri (“sea”). Cognate with Old Frisian mere (West Frisian mar), Old Saxon meri (Low German Meer), Dutch meer, Old High German meri (German Meer), Old Norse marr (Swedish mar). The Indo-European root is also the source of Latin mare, Old Irish muir (Breton mor), Old Church Slavonic ???? (more) (Russian ????? (móre)), Lithuanian mãre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?me.re/

Noun

mere m

1. lake
2. pool
3. (poetic or in compounds) sea

Declension

Derived terms

• meresw?n
• ?þmere

Descendants

• Middle English: mere
  • English: mere
  • Scots: mere

See also

• ?a (“river”)
• g?rse?? (“ocean”)
• s? (“sea”)
• str?am (“stream”)

Old French

Alternative forms

• medre

Etymology

From earlier medre, from Latin m?ter, m?trem.

Noun

mere f (oblique plural meres, nominative singular mere, nominative plural meres)

1. mother (female family member)

Descendants

• Bourguignon: meire
• Middle French: mere
  • French: mère
    • Haitian Creole: mè
• Norman: mère, méthe
• Walloon: mere

Romanian

Noun

mere n pl

1. plural of m?r

Serbo-Croatian

Verb

mere (Cyrillic spelling ????)

1. third-person plural present of meriti

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ?'p?n, IPA^(key): /???.p?n/
• (US) enPR: ?'p?n, IPA^(key): /?o?.p?n/
• Rhymes: -??p?n

Etymology 1

From Middle English open, from Old English open (“open”), from Proto-Germanic *upanaz (“open”), from Proto-Indo-European *upo (“up from under, over”). Cognate with Scots apen (“open”), Saterland Frisian eepen (“open”), West Frisian iepen (“open”), Dutch open (“open”), Low German open, apen (“open”), German offen (“open”), Danish åben (“open”), Swedish öppen (“open”), Norwegian Bokmål åpen (“open”), Norwegian Nynorsk open (“open”), Icelandic opinn (“open”). Compare also Latin supinus (“on one's back, supine”), Albanian hap (“to open”). Related to up.

Adjective

open (comparative more open, superlative most open)

1. (not comparable) Not closed
   1. able to be accessed
   2. able to have something pass through or along it.
      • 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Chapter 2

        The open road, the dusty highway […]

   3. (of a body part) not covered, showing what is inside

2. Not physically drawn together, closed, folded or contracted; extended

   • Each, with open arms, embraced her chosen knight.

3. (not comparable) Actively conducting or prepared to conduct business.
4. (comparable) Receptive.
5. (not comparable) Public
6. (not comparable) Candid, ingenuous, not subtle in character.
   • 1731-1735, Alexander Pope, Moral Essays

     with aspect open, shall erect his head

   • The French are always open, familiar, and talkative.

7. (mathematics, logic, of a formula) Having a free variable.
8. (mathematics, topology, of a set) Which is part of a predefined collection of subsets of ${\displaystyle X}$, that defines a topological space on ${\displaystyle X}$.
9. (graph theory, of a walk) Whose first and last vertices are different.
10. (computing, not comparable, of a file, document, etc.) In current use; mapped to part of memory.

11. (business) Not fulfilled.

12. Not settled or adjusted; not decided or determined; not closed or withdrawn from consideration.

13. (music, stringed instruments) Of a note, played without pressing the string against the fingerboard.
14. (music, wind instruments) Of a note, played without closing any finger-hole, key or valve.
15. Not of a quality to prevent communication, as by closing waterways, blocking roads, etc.; hence, not frosty or inclement; mild; used of the weather or the climate.

16. (law, of correspondence) Written or sent with the intention that it may made public or referred to at any trial, rather than by way of confidential private negotiation for a settlement.

17. (phonetics) Uttered with a relatively wide opening of the articulating organs; said of vowels.
18. (phonetics) Uttered, as a consonant, with the oral passage simply narrowed without closure.
19. (phonetics, of a syllable) That ends in a vowel; not having a coda.
20. (computing, education) Made public, usable with a free licence and without proprietary components.
21. (medicine) Resulting from an incision, puncture or any other process by which the skin no longer protects an internal part of the body.
22. (computing, used before "code") Source code of a computer program that is not within the text of a macro being generated.

Synonyms

• (not closed): accessible, unimpeded
• (ending in a vowel): free
• (with a free license and no proprietary components): free

Antonyms

• (accessible): closed, shut
• (law): without prejudice
• (ending in a vowel): closed, checked
• (with a free license and no proprietary components): closed-source, proprietary

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English openen, from Old English openian (“to open”), from Proto-Germanic *upan?n? (“to raise; lift; open”), from Proto-Germanic *upanaz (“open”, adjective). Cognate with Saterland Frisian eepenje (“to open”), West Frisian iepenje (“to open”), Dutch openen (“to open”), German öffnen (“to open”), Danish åbne (“to open”), Swedish öppna (“to open”), Norwegian Bokmål åpne (“to open”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Icelandic opna (“to open”). Related to English up.

Verb

open (third-person singular simple present opens, present participle opening, simple past and past participle opened)

1. (transitive) To make something accessible or allow for passage by moving from a shut position.

2. (transitive) To make (an open space, etc.) by clearing away an obstacle or obstacles, in order to allow for passage, access, or visibility.

3. (transitive) To bring up, broach.

4. (transitive) To enter upon, begin.

5. (transitive) To spread; to expand into an open or loose position.

6. (transitive) To make accessible to customers or clients.

7. (transitive) To start (a campaign).

8. (intransitive) To become open.

9. (intransitive) To begin conducting business.

10. (intransitive, cricket) To begin a side's innings as one of the first two batsmen.
11. (intransitive, poker) To bet before any other player has in a particular betting round in a game of poker.

12. (transitive, intransitive, poker) To reveal one's hand.

13. (computing, transitive, intransitive, of a file, document, etc.) To load into memory for viewing or editing.
14. (obsolete) To disclose; to reveal; to interpret; to explain.
    • 1622, Francis Bacon, The History of the Reign of King Henry the Seventh

      The king opened himself to some of his council, that he was sorry for the earl's death.

Synonyms

• (to make accessible): unseal
• (to bring up): raise
• (to enter upon): start; see also Thesaurus:begin
• (to disclose): bare; see also Thesaurus:reveal

Hyponyms

• (to make accessible): crack (open a bit)

Antonyms

• (to make accessible): bare, shut

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 3

From Middle English open (“an aperture or opening”), from the verb (see Etymology 2 above). In the sports sense, however, a shortening of “open competition”.

Noun

open (plural opens)

1. (with the) Open or unobstructed space; an exposed location.

2. (with the) Public knowledge or scrutiny; full view.

3. (electronics) A defect in an electrical circuit preventing current from flowing.

4. A sports event in which anybody can compete

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

• Nope, nope, peno-, peon, pone

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch openen, from Middle Dutch ?penen, from Old Dutch opanon, from Proto-Germanic *upan?n?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /????.p?n/

Verb

open (present open, present participle openende, past participle geopen)

1. (transitive) to open

Related terms

• oop

Catalan

Etymology

From English open.

Noun

open m (plural open or òpens)

1. (sports) open

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?o?.p?(n)/
• Hyphenation: open
• Rhymes: -o?p?n

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch ?pen, from Old Dutch opan, from Proto-Germanic *upanaz.

Adjective

open (comparative opener, superlative openst)

1. open, not closed

   Antonyms: gesloten, dicht, toe

2. open for business

   Antonyms: gesloten, dicht

3. open, receptive

   Antonym: gesloten

Inflection

Antonyms

• gesloten

Derived terms

• openbaar
• openbaren
• openen
• opener
• opening
• openlijk

Descendants

• Afrikaans: oop

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

open

1. first-person singular present indicative of openen
2. imperative of openen

Anagrams

• nope

Finnish

Noun

open

1. genitive singular of ope

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English open.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?.p?n/

Noun

open m (plural opens)

1. open; open tournament

Further reading

• “open” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch opan, from Proto-Germanic *upanaz.

Adjective

?pen

1. open, not closed
2. open, accessible
3. freely accessible, public

Inflection

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

• ?penen

Descendants

• Dutch: open
  • Afrikaans: oop
• Limburgish: aop

Further reading

• “open”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929) , “open (II)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, ?ISBN, page II

Middle English

Alternative forms

• opyn, ope

Etymology

From Old English open, from Proto-Germanic *upanaz.

Adjective

open (comparative more open, superlative most open)

1. open
   • 14th c. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales. General Prologue: 9-11.

     And smale foweles maken melodye,

     That slepen al the nyght with open eye-

     (So priketh hem Nature in hir corages);

     And many little birds make melody

     That sleep through all the night with open eye

     (So Nature pricks them on to ramp and rage)

Related terms

• open-ers
• openly

Descendants

• English: open (obsolete ope)
• Scots: appen, apen

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse opinn, from Proto-Germanic *upanaz. Compare Danish åben, Icelandic opinn, Swedish öppen, Dutch open, Low German apen, open, German offen, West Frisian iepen, English open.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²o?p?n/

Adjective

open (masculine and feminine open, neuter ope or opent, definite singular and plural opne, comparative opnare, indefinite superlative opnast, definite superlative opnaste)

1. open

Related terms

• opna, opne

See also

• åpen (Bokmål)

References

• “open” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *upanaz. Originally a past participle of Proto-Germanic *?pan? (“to lift up, open”). Akin to Old English ?p (“up”). Cognate with Old Frisian open, opin, epen (West Frisian iepen), Old Saxon opan, open (Low German apen, open), Dutch open, Old High German offan, ofan, ophan (German offen), Old Norse opinn (Danish åben, Norwegian open, Swedish öppen).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?o.pen/

Adjective

open

1. open

Declension

Derived terms

• openl??

Descendants

• Middle English: open, opyn, ope
  • Scots: appen, apen
  • English: open

Plautdietsch

Adjective

open

1. open

Spanish

Etymology

From English open.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?open/, [?o.p?n]

Noun

open m (plural opens or open)

1. (sports) open