# Marine
## Overview
**Marine** functions as both adjective ('marine biology,' 'marine environment') and noun ('a Marine,' 'the Marines'). The adjective covers anything relating to the sea; the noun designates a soldier trained for naval and amphibious operations.
## Etymology
From Latin *marinus* ('of the sea'), from *mare* ('sea'), from PIE **\*mori-** ('body of water, lake, sea'). English borrowed the word through Old French *marin* in the 15th century.
## The Sea Root
PIE **\*mori-** is one of the most consistently preserved roots in the family, appearing in nearly every branch:
- **Latin**: *mare* ('sea') → **marine**, **maritime**, **submarine**, **ultramarine**, **mariner** - **Germanic**: Old English *mere* ('lake, pool, sea') → **mere** (a lake), **mermaid** ('sea-maiden'), **marsh** (waterlogged ground) - **German**: *Meer* ('sea, ocean') - **Celtic**: Old Irish *muir* ('sea'), Welsh *môr* ('sea') - **Slavic**: Russian *more* ('sea'), Polish *morze* ('sea')
The semantic range of the root spans from small bodies of water (English *mere* = 'lake') to vast oceans (Latin *mare*), suggesting the PIE speakers used the word flexibly for any significant body of water.
## Ultramarine
The pigment and color name **ultramarine** derives from Medieval Latin *ultramarinus* ('beyond the sea'). The deep blue pigment was manufactured from lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone mined primarily in Badakhshan (northeastern Afghanistan). Because the stone had to be transported overland and overseas to reach European markets, the resulting pigment was called 'from beyond the sea.'
Ultramarine was the most expensive pigment available to Renaissance painters — ounce for ounce, it cost more than gold. Contracts for paintings sometimes specified separately how much ultramarine the artist could use. It was typically reserved for the most sacred figures, particularly the Virgin Mary's robes.
## The Marines
The noun **Marine** (capitalized) refers to members of naval infantry forces. The concept of soldiers trained to fight both at sea and on land dates to ancient Greece and Rome, but permanent Marine corps are a modern development:
- The Spanish *Infantería de Marina* (1537) is the oldest extant marine corps - The British Royal Marines trace their lineage to 1664 - The United States Marine Corps was established in 1775
The word shifted from 'anything relating to the sea' to 'a specific type of soldier' through the 17th-18th centuries.
## Mare vs. Mare
English **mare** ('female horse') is unrelated to Latin *mare* ('sea') despite identical spelling. The horse word comes from Old English *miere*, from Proto-Germanic *\*marhijō* ('female horse'), from PIE **\*marḱo-** ('horse'). The homography is purely coincidental — two different PIE roots converged in modern English spelling.
## Related Forms
The family includes **maritime** (adjective, relating to navigation and commerce at sea), **submarine** (under the sea), **mariner** (a sailor), **marina** (a harbor for pleasure boats), and **aquamarine** (a blue-green color, 'sea-water').