marear (Spanish)
Where does "marear" come from?
The Spanish verb 'marear' captures the feeling of being tossed about by the ocean, originating from the Latin word 'mare' for sea. It traveled through the French term 'marée,' meaning tide, before entering Spanish as a way to describe the sickness or dizziness caused by the rhythmic motion of the water. Today, the word has expanded beyond the shore to describe any situation that makes one feel dizzy or nauseated.
Full etymology tree
- marear (Spanish), 'to get dizzy'
- compound marea (Spanish), 'tide'
- borrowed marée (French), 'tide'
- derived mer (Old French), 'sea (large body of water)'
- inherited mare (Latin), 'sea'
- inherited *mari (Proto-Italic), 'sea'
- inherited *móri (Proto-Indo-European), 'sea'
- derived *mer- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to die'
- inherited *móri (Proto-Indo-European), 'sea'
- inherited *mari (Proto-Italic), 'sea'
- inherited mare (Latin), 'sea'
- derived mer (Old French), 'sea (large body of water)'
- borrowed marée (French), 'tide'
- suffix -ar (Spanish), 'indicates membership or status'
- inherited -āris (Latin), 'Used to form an adjective, usually from a noun, indicating a relationship or a pertaining to.'
- compound marea (Spanish), 'tide'
Ancestors
- marea (Spanish)
Descendants and derived words
- aguja de marear (Spanish)
- carta de marear (Spanish)
- mareado (Spanish)
- mareado (Spanish)
- mareador (Spanish)
- mareante (Spanish)
- mareante (Spanish)
- marear la perdiz (Spanish)
- mareo (Spanish)
- mareo (Spanish)
Updated May 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris