말과의 포유류. 어깨의 높이는 1.2~1.7미터이며, 갈색ㆍ검은색ㆍ붉은 갈색ㆍ흰색 따위가 있다. 네 다리와 목ㆍ얼굴이 길고 목덜미에는 갈기가 있으며, 꼬리는 긴 털로 덮여 있다. 초식성으로 3~4세에 성숙하고 16~20세까지 번식하는데, 4~6월이 번식기이고 수태한 후 335일 만에 한 마리의 새끼를 낳는다. 성질이 온순하고 잘 달리며 힘이 세어 농경, 운반, 승용, 경마 따위에 사용한다. [1][2]
Probably from Latin mās, marem (“male”), with a shift in meaning; alternatively from an irregular shortened form of maior, maiōrem (“bigger”). Compare Romanian mare, and see there for a more detailed etymology.
Several theories exist. One possibility is Latin maiōrem, masculine and feminine accusative singular of maiōr (“bigger”), irregularly clipped before the [j] → [d͡ʒ] sound change (the regular form would be *măjoare). Compare also Dalmatian maur (“large”). Another proposed etymology is Latin marem, accusative of mās (“male, man”) (however, the reason for the shift in meaning or the exact semantic development is uncertain; it may be because men are generally larger than women, or from a crossing with magnus, or more likely from use in idiomatic expressions (with equivalents found in many languages) such as s-a făcut mare, which can mean "he has grown up/grown older/become a man or adult", and this may have been eventually extended to mean "he/she has grown bigger", with the sense of the word shifting from "man/adult" to "big"). Less likely is the influence from mare (“sea”). Also found in Aromanian as mari (“big, large”).
