marten

[ mahr-tn ]

noun

, plural mar·tens, (especially collectively) mar·ten.

1. any of several slender, chiefly arboreal carnivores of the genus Martes, of northern forests, having a long, glossy coat and bushy tail.
2. the fur of such an animal, generally a dark brown.

marten

/ ˈmɑːtɪn /

noun

1. See pine marten
   any of several agile arboreal musteline mammals of the genus Martes, of Europe, Asia, and North America, having bushy tails and golden brown to blackish fur See also pine marten
2. the highly valued fur of these animals, esp that of M. americana

Word History and Origins

Origin of marten¹

1375–1425; < Middle Low German, equivalent to mart marten (cognate with Old English mearth ) + -en -en ⁵; replacing late Middle English martren < Middle French martrine marten fur, noun use of feminine of martrin pertaining to a marten, equivalent to martre marten (< Germanic; compare German Marder ) + -in -in ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of marten¹

C15: from Middle Dutch martren, from Old French ( peau ) martrine skin of a marten, from martre, probably of Germanic origin

Example Sentences

The stone martens didn’t turn up at the sites at all, while badgers seemed unperturbed.

From Popular-Science

Using a test score alone to judge a school was unethical, Marten argued.

From Voice of San Diego

There was a massive power outage that turned out to be the result of a small mammal now thought to be a marten weasel, which chewed through some power lines and sadly died, but not before taking the LHC with it, albeit temporarily.

From Popular-Science

Williamson and Maxwell were no fans of Marten – nor current school board leaders like Richard Barrera who helped put her in power.

From Voice of San Diego

They tried to push several senators to vote “no” on Marten’s confirmation, but ultimately Marten made it through the confirmation process with relative ease.

From Voice of San Diego

When recounting her trip to her friend Glen (Marten Holder Weiner), Sally summed up her visit to Manhattan in one word: “Dirty.”

From The Daily Beast

Small Bright Brown—dubbed with camel's hair, and marten's yellow fur mixed, wings pale feather of a starling.

From Project Gutenberg

The marten makes a nest of moss, grass and leaves, in a hollow tree or log or among rocks.

From Project Gutenberg

In the woods his food is similar to that of the marten, although he cannot climb a tree to capture his prey.

From Project Gutenberg

Cocking his head on one side, the marten regarded the swaying nest critically out of his bright black eyes.

From Project Gutenberg

With a flying leap, the marten reached the spruce and flashed up the trunk, with never a look behind.

From Project Gutenberg