mara

Noun

mara (plural maras)

1. (European folklore) A nightmare; a spectre or wraith-like creature in Germanic and particularly Scandinavian folklore; a female demon who torments people in sleep by crouching on their chests or stomachs, or by causing terrifying visions.
   • 1996, Catharina Raudvere, “Now you see her, now you don't: some notes on the conception of female shape-shifters in Scandinavian traditions”, in Sandra Billington, Miranda Green, editors, The Concept of the Goddess, pages 41–55:

     The corpus of related texts tells us that within rural society it was not improbable for your neighbour's envy of your fine cattle to take the form of a mara.

Noun

mara (plural maras)

1. (Buddhism) A type of god that prevents accomplishment or success.
   • 2011, Graham Woodhouse, Lobsang Gyatso, Tsongkhapa's Praise for Dependent Relativity‎, Wisdom Publications, page 20:

     Mara means demon, or demonic influence, that hinders the practice of virtue. It may be an external spirit or an aspect of our own imperfect condition. All hindrances on the path to liberation are subsumed under the four maras. The first mara is the mara of the aggregates. […] The second of the maras is the mara of the afflictions, which are the same as the afflictive obstructions. They are identified as a mara because they precipitate all harmful actions, from malicious gossip to murder. […] The third mara is Devaputra, literally "son of a god," an external troublemaker who specializes in interfering with beings who are endeavoring to achieve something positive. […] The last mara is the mara of death.

2. (Buddhism) Any malicious or evil spirit.
   • 2002, Sarvananda Bluestone, The World Dream Book, page 73:

     The mara is the spirit that causes illness, accidents, and mishaps. The only protection against it is another mara who befriends a person or a group. A mara who becomes friendly is called a gunik. This transformation occurs when a mara comes to a person in a dream and states a desire to be friendly. But there are deceitful maras who pretend to be friendly, yet will betray the person who trusts them.

Noun

mara (plural maras)

1. Any caviid rodent of genus Dolichotis, common in the Patagonian steppes of Argentina.
   • 1999, Michael A. Mares, editor, Encyclopedia of Deserts‎, Mara, page 349:

     Maras have a white patch of fur on the rump that they flash when running, an adaptation they share with several species of deer and antelopes.

   • 2011, Terry A. Vaughan, James M. Ryan, Nicholas J. Czaplewski, Mammalogy, 5th edition, page 228:

     Although only Dolichotis, the Patagonian mara, is strongly cursorial, all caviids have certain features typical of cursorial mammals […] .

   • 2013, R. L. Honeycutt, “Chapter 3: Phylogenetics of Caviomorph Rodents and Genetic Perspectives on the Evolution of Sociality and Mating Systems in the Caviidae”, in José Roberto Moreira, Katia Maria P.M.B. Ferraz, Emilio A. Herrera, David W. Macdonald, editors, Capybara: Biology, Use and Conservation of an Exceptional Neotropical Species‎, page 70:

     Maras (Dolichotis patagonum) are cursorial and prefer open areas with low vegetation for breeding and more barren sites for construction of communal dens (Taber and Macdonald 1992; Baldi 2007).

References

• Mara (mammal) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Dolichotis on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Dolichotis on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmara/ [ˈmʌɾʌ]
• Hyphenation: ma‧ra

Noun

mára m 

1. (in compounds) people
   • Saytun Qhuraan kee kay maqnah tarjamaty Qafar afal tani [The clear Qur'an and its explanation translated into the Afar language]‎, Suurat Al-Faatica, verse 3:

     Ummaan ginoh Fulte Racmatta leeh, yeemene marah Gunê Racmatta-le Rabbi kinni.

     He [who] surpasses the mercy of every creation, he is the God who gives mercy to the believing people.

2. (Northern dialects, in compounds) living

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maˈra/ [mʌˈɾʌ]
• Hyphenation: ma‧ra

Verb

mara

1. first/third-person masculine singular affirmative imperfective of maré

Derived terms

Derived terms

Derived terms

Related terms

• madra

Noun

mara

1. (folklore) nightmare, mara (demon that causes bad dreams)

   Synonym: painajainen

Noun

mara

1. mara (hare-like South American rodent of the genus Dolichotis)

Quotations

• 1856, William Ridley, “On the Kamilaroi Tribe of Australians and Their Dialect”, in Journal of the Ethnological Society of London, volume 4:

  Hand . . . mārā
  Fingers . . mŭrră.

  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

• 1856, William Ridley, gurre kamilaroi, or Kamilaroi Sayings:

  immanuel murra kawāni miedul, goe, “miēdūl waria.”
  Immanuel by hand took the girl, said “damsel arise”.

  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

• 1873, William Ridley, Australian Languages and Traditions, in The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, volume 2:

  Hand|murra

• 1903, R. H. Mathews, Languages of the Kamilaroi and Other Aboriginal Tribes of New South Wales, in The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, volume 33:

  Hand .... ....|murra

Verb

mara (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative maraði, supine marað)

1. to float under the surface

Noun

mara f (genitive singular möru, nominative plural mörur)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Noun

mara (plural mara-mara)

1. calamity, danger

   Synonyms: bahala, bahaya, bala, bencana, cobaan, dakiat, keapesan, kecelakaan, kegagalan, kemaharan, kemalangan, kemudaratan, kerugian, kesialan, malapetaka, mara

Verb

mara

1. to go

Noun

mara (plural mara-mara)

1. Alternative spelling of kotamara (“a kind of naval defensive structure”).

Derived terms

• marawardli (“palm”)
• marawaka (“cupped hands”)

Affixations

Inflection

Derived terms