mare
mare — 名詞
- maresingular
- maresplural
1. a fully grown female animal that belongs to the horse family, including donkeys
母馬
成年雌馬
a fully grown female animal that belongs to the horse family, including donkeys and zebras
The mare gave birth to a healthy foal last spring on the Johnson farm.
去年春天，那匹母馬在約翰遜農場生下了一匹健康的小馬駒。
mare gave birth to a foal
Ezra spent the morning brushing his mare's mane in the stable.
Ezra 早上在馬廄裡為他的母馬梳理鬃毛。
brushing a mare's mane
At the horse market, the farmer sold two mares and kept the stallion.
在馬市上，農夫賣掉了兩匹母馬，留下了那匹種公馬。
The brown mare stood patiently while the farrier replaced her front shoes.
那匹棕色母馬耐心地站著，讓蹄鐵匠幫牠換上前蹄的馬蹄鐵。
Naoko's mare won first place in the dressage competition last weekend.
Naoko 的母馬上週末在馬場馬術比賽中得了第一名。
- filly
refers to a young female horse, usually under four years old, not a fully mature one
- brood mare
a mare kept specifically for breeding, not used for riding
常見錯誤
2. an insulting way of referring to a woman, comparing her to a female horse and su
悍婦
侮辱女性的粗魯用語
an insulting way of referring to a woman, comparing her to a female horse and suggesting she is unpleasant, bad-tempered, or unattractive
The manager was disciplined after calling a female colleague an old mare in the office.
那名主管因在辦公室稱女同事為老母馬而受到懲處。
derogatory: calling someone 'an old mare'
Ziad told his friend the word mare was a rude way to describe a woman.
Ziad 告訴朋友，用母馬這個詞來稱呼女性很粗魯。
The newspaper apologised after calling the politician a bad-tempered mare.
該報社因形容那位政治人物是匹脾氣暴躁的母馬而公開道歉。
Calling a woman a mare is just as offensive as calling a man a donkey.
稱女性為母馬的侮辱程度，和叫男人驢子差不多。
- bitch
a much stronger and more common insult for a woman; 'mare' is less common but similarly dehumanising
用法筆記
Strongly offensive. Learners should understand this insult but avoid using it in any real situation. It equates a woman to a female horse, implying she is large, noisy, or difficult to control.
常見錯誤
3. an event or set of circumstances that causes great difficulty or annoyance — sim
噩夢
非常麻煩的處境
an event or set of circumstances that causes great difficulty or annoyance — similar to the word 'nightmare', but not referring to an actual bad dream
The train strike turned Rachel's journey home into an absolute mare.
火車罷工讓 Rachel 的回家路程變成一場噩夢。
absolute mare — intensifier pattern
Diego said filling out the visa application was a real mare.
Diego 說填寫簽證申請表真是個大麻煩。
Getting the online booking system to work has been a complete mare all week.
整整一週，那個線上訂票系統都故障連連，簡直是一場噩夢。
The kitchen renovation became a mare after the builders kept changing the schedule.
廚房翻修變成了一場噩夢，因為工人不斷更改工期。
用法筆記
Chiefly British informal slang, used in the same way as 'nightmare' for real-life difficulties. Common intensifiers before 'mare' include 'absolute', 'complete', 'real', and 'total'. Does not refer to bad dreams — use 'nightmare' for that.
常見錯誤
4. a big dark plain visible on Mars and the Moon, which early sky watchers wrongly
月海
月表或火星表面的暗色平原
a big dark plain visible on Mars and the Moon, which early sky watchers wrongly believed to be an ocean
The largest mare on the moon is called Mare Imbrium, which means Sea of Rains.
月球上最大的月海叫做雨海（Mare Imbrium），意思是「雨水之海」。
named mare + Latin meaning
Mira studied the dark outline of Mare Tranquillitatis through her telescope.
Mira 透過望遠鏡仔細觀察寧靜海（Mare Tranquillitatis）的暗色輪廓。
In 1971, astronauts landed near a mare and gathered rock samples from its surface.
1971 年，太空人在一個月海附近登陸，並從其表面收集了岩石樣本。
Three dark maria visible from Earth are called the Seas of Tranquillity, Serenity, and Rains.
從地球可見的三個暗色月海分別稱為寧靜海、澄海和雨海。
- lunar plain
a descriptive English alternative without the Latin plural form
- mare basin
refers to the geological basin that forms a mare, used in scientific contexts
- highland
the lighter, raised areas of the moon's surface, called terrae in Latin
用法筆記
Technical term in astronomy. The plural form is 'maria' (pronounced /ˈmɑːriə/). Mare names are always capitalised in Latin form, e.g. Mare Nubium (Sea of Clouds). When using the English term, lowercase 'mare' is acceptable.