martin
/ˈmɑɹ.tɪn/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.74 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Many of the various passerine birds of the family Hirundinidae, which also includes swallows, that catch insects whilst flying.
name
A male given name from Latin originally given in honor of a fourth century soldier-saint.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Roof-haunting martins warm their eggs: / In these, in those the life is stay’d."
- ""Ye must avenge my sister's son's death; I will sables and martins bestow.""
- "Expect Saint Martin's summer, halcyon days, / Since I have entered into these wars."
- "Luther was not born in the year 1483, but in 84; and not on the 22nd day of October, but on the 10th of November, the eve of Martinmas day, from whence he had the name of Martin. - - - Now you see, brother Toby, he would say, looking up, "that christian names are not such indifferent things;" - Had Luther here been called by any other name but Martin, he would have been damned to all eternity - Not that I look upon Martin, he would add, as a good name - far from it - 'tis something better than a neutral, and but a little - yet little as it is, you see it was of some service to him."
- "What splendid names for boys there are! / There's Carol like a rolling car, / And Martin like a flying bird,/"
- "Martin was pretty dull as names went but 'Alex Blake' had a certain dash to it. His publishers hadn't considered Martin's own name to be 'punchy' enough."
Etymology
From Middle French martin (French martinet).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: martin, Mārtīnus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmɑɹ.tɪn/
- British English: /ˈmɑː.tɪn/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
bank martin
bee martin
black martin
crag martin
fairy martin
house martin
like a martin to his gourd
like a martin to its gourd