maar

Borrowed from German Maar; English usage from 1825, from Vulgar Latin *mara (“standing water”), from Latin mare (“sea”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /mɑː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /mɑːɹ/
• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)
• Homophone: mar

maar (plural maars or maare)

1. (geology, volcanology) A broad volcanic crater, usually filled with water to form a lake.

• crater lake

• Rāma, Rama, ARMA, -rama, Mara, amra, Aram, mara, Amar

• ma' (Cape Afrikaans)
• maa' (Cape Afrikaans)
• mar (colloquial, dialectal)

From Dutch maar, from Middle Dutch maer.

• IPA^(key): /mɑːr/

• Audio:

  (file)

maar

1. only; solely; just

   As ek maar [net] die dag kon af kry.

   If I could just get the day off.

2. slightly; a bit; a little

   Werk is maar [bietjie] vervelig.

   Work is a bit boring.

3. please

   Ek gaan bietjie laat wees, so hou maar [asseblief] my kos warm.

   I'll be a bit late, so please keep my food warm.

4. feel free; please

   Sit maar [gerus].

   Feel free to sit. / Please sit.

5. quite; really

   Sy lyk maar [taamlik] siek.

   She looks quite sick.

6. so long or just (often apologetically)

   Julle het julle tyd gevat, toe begin ons maar [solank] sonder julle.

   You guys were taking your time, so we started without you so long.

7. still; continuously

   Dit gaan maar [steeds] sleg.

   It is [still] going badly.

Maar has many synonyms which is often used alongside it with no change in meaning, however to the native ear the use of maar without these synonyms can in some contexts sound odd. In some cases using maar with one of its synonyms helps to clear up ambiguity.

maar

1. but; however

• dog

• egter

maar (plural maars or mare)

1. (uncommon) but

   Dis 'n groot maar, behalwe as ons voldoende voorberei.

   It's a big but, except if we prepare adequately.

• IPA^(key): /maːr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: maar
• Rhymes: -aːr

From Middle Dutch maer, māre, mar, mer, apheretic variant of nemaer, nemāre, from earlier newaer, neware (“except, however, only”), from ne ware (“were not”). Not cognate with English mere.

maar

1. only, just

   Het was maar een vraag!

   It was only a question!

   • 1971, Ben Cramer, De clown:

     Hij was maar een clown, maar nu is hij dood.

     He was just a clown, but now he is dead.

2. as long as; only
3. just; a modal particle indicating a certain degree of indifference towards the result.

   Leg het lepeltje maar op het schoteltje van het koffiekopje.

   Just (go ahead and) place the spoon on the saucer of the coffee cup.

   Ik ga maar naar de winkel.

   (I suppose) I'll just go to the shop.

   Hup, lopen maar.

   Come on, get walking.

• nog maar
• zeg maar
• maar liefst

• Afrikaans: maar

maar

1. but

   Dat ging goed, maar het kan beter.

   That went well, but it could go better.

   • 1971, Ben Cramer, De clown:

     Hij was maar een clown, maar nu is hij dood.

     He was just a clown, but now he is dead.

2. yet; only
3. but then

   Hij zou een succesvol zakenman kunnen worden, maar, hij zou ook zwerver kunnen worden.

   He could become a successful businessman, but, he could also become a vagrant.

• maren

• Afrikaans: maar
• Javindo: maar
• Jersey Dutch: mâr
• Negerhollands: maer, maar, ma
• Petjo: maar
• → Ambonese Malay: mar
• → Papiamentu: ma
• → Sranan Tongo: ma
  • → Lokono: ma
  • → Aukan: ma
  • → Kari'na: ma
  • → Kwinti: ma
  • → Saramaccan: ma

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

maar

1. inflection of maren:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

• raam

Clipping of Maaria, a vernacular form of Maria (“Mary, mother of Jesus Christ”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑːr/, [ˈmɑ̝ːr]
• Rhymes: -ɑːr
• Hyphenation^(key): maar

maar (dialectal)

1. (Turku region) Used as fortifier after e.g. words kyllä (“yes”), totta (“true”).

• “maar”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03

• Mara, mara