Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

mer-

/ˈmɝ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.29 in modern English

Syllables: mer-
IPA: /ˈmɝ/

5

Scrabble Score

3

Letters

2

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

prefix

sea; marine; applied to beings that are fully or partly sea-creatures.

prefix

Of, pertaining to, or associated with the realm of mermaids and mermen.

prefix

Alternative form of mero- (“part, partial”) used before a vowel

Example Sentences

"mercow, mermaid, merman, merswine, mersnake"
"merlady, merfolk, merwife, mermonster"

Etymology

From Middle English mere-, from Old English mere-, from Proto-Germanic *mari-, from Proto-Germanic *mari (“sea”). More at mere.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *mer- (sea), mere-, *mari-, *mari

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈmɝ/
British English: /ˈmɜː/

Homonyms

murr murre myrrh (all fern–fir–fur merger) mare (fair–fur merger)

Questions

How do you pronounce mer-?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈmɝ/.
What does mer- mean?: sea; marine; applied to beings that are fully or partly sea-creatures.
Where does mer- come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce mer-

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “mer-”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈmɝ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “mer-”.
Repeat and practice — Say “mer-” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.