mere

¹

[ meer ]

adjective

, superlative mer·est.

1. being nothing more nor better than:

   a mere pittance;

   He is still a mere child.

2. Obsolete.
   1. pure and unmixed, as wine, a people, or a language.
   2. fully as much as what is specified; completely fulfilled or developed; absolute.

mere

²

[ meer ]

noun

1. Chiefly British Dialect. a lake or pond.
2. Obsolete. any body of sea water.

mere

³

or mear

[ meer ]

noun

, British Dialect.

1. a boundary or boundary marker.

mère

⁴

[ mer; English mair ]

noun

, French.

, plural mères [me, r, mairz].

1. mother ¹.

-mere

⁵

1. a combining form meaning “part,” used in the formation of compound words:

   blastomere.

mere

¹

/ mɪə /

noun

1. archaic.
   a boundary or boundary marker

-mere

²

combining form

1. indicating a part or division

   blastomere

mere

³

/ ˈmɛrɪ /

noun

1. a short flat striking weapon

mere

⁴

/ mɪə /

noun

1. archaic.
   a lake or marsh
2. obsolete.
   the sea or an inlet of it

mere

⁵

/ mɪə /

adjective

1. being nothing more than something specified

   she is a mere child

–mere

1. A suffix meaning “part” or “segment,” as in blastomere, one of the cells that form a blastula.

Derived Forms

• -meric, combining_form:in_adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mere¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English mer(e) “pure, clear, unmixed,” from Old French mier, mer, from Latin merus “pure, unmixed, simple, mere”

Origin of mere²

First recorded before 900; Middle English mere, mer, meire, Old English mer, mære “sea, ocean, lake, pond, well, cistern,” cognate with German Meer, Old Norse marr, Gothic marei, Old Irish muir, Latin mare

Origin of mere³

First recorded before 900; Middle English mere, mer, merre, Old English mǣre, gemǣre; cognate with Old Norse mæri “boundary, border land”; akin to Latin mūrus “defensive wall, city wall, boundary wall”

Origin of mere⁴

Combining form representing Greek méros

Word History and Origins

Origin of mere¹

Old English gemǣre

Origin of mere²

from Greek meros part, portion

Origin of mere³

Māori

Origin of mere⁴

Old English mere sea, lake; related to Old Saxon meri sea, Old Norse marr, Old High German mari; compare Latin mare

Origin of mere⁵

C15: from Latin merus pure, unmixed

Synonym Study

Mere, bare imply a scant sufficiency. They are often interchangeable, but mere frequently means no more than (enough). Bare suggests scarcely as much as (enough). Thus a mere livelihood means enough to live on but no more; a bare livelihood means scarcely enough to live on.

Example Sentences

Eventually, the allegations—and the women making them—are reduced by an offhand dismissal of the misconduct as a mere “he said, she said.”

From Slate

The mere threat of that — of publicly and explicitly neutering the Senate — could be enough for the GOP caucus to get in line.

From Salon

Bawumia was a 44-year-old who had never held public office, yet Akufo-Addo - then a mere presidential candidate - had chosen him as a running mate.

From BBC

No longer mere debates, these ideals have been dragged into the public square, put on trial, accused of treachery and of fracturing the nation's unity.

From Salon

Support for Trump became a scarlet letter for a family member or potential friend in a way that mere Republican affiliation never was before.

From Slate

Related Words

• bare
• minor
• pure
• sheer
• simple

Words That Use -mere

What does -mere mean?

The combining form -mere is used like a suffix meaning “part.” It is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology and anatomy.

The form -mere comes from Greek méros, meaning “part” or “portion.” From this same source, we also get the combining forms -mer and -merous. Want to know more? Check out our Words That Use entries for both forms.

Examples of -mere

One example of a scientific term that features the combining form -mere is osteomere, “one of a series of similar bone segments, such as a vertebra.”

The combining form osteo- means “bone,” from Greek ostéon. Because -mere means “part,” osteomere literally translates to “bone part.”

What are some words that use the combining form -mere?

• adenomere
• macromere
• metamere
• neuromere
• podomere
• sarcomere
• uromere

Though they’re spelled similarly, the combining form -mere is not related to the adjective mere. Find out more at our entry for mere.

Break it down!

The combining form neuro- means “nerves” or “nervous system.” With this in mind, what does the anatomical term neuromere literally mean?