Mary definition

Etymology

, from , , possibly from Aramaic מרים (Maryām), bitter, from a root מר (MR) meaning "to be bitter". The name corresponds to the Hebrew מרים (Miryām), Old Testament Miriam. The meaning is much debated. Some say that it mean mutiny / rebellion / disobedience from the Hebrew root מרי.

Proper noun

. It was considered too sacred to use before the end of the 12th century; very popular from the 17th to the 20th century.
The Virgin Mary, the mother of Christ.
Several other women in the New Testament, notably Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha.

Quotations

: Matthew 1:18:

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

ibid., Luke 10:41:

Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
1821 Lord Byron: Don Juan: Canto the Fifth: IV:

I have a passion for the name of Mary,

For once it was a magic sound to me:

And still it half calls up the realm of fairy

Where I beheld what never was to be.
1830 Mary Russell Mitford: Our Village: Cottage Names:

Mary, which is as common as a white violet, and like that has something indestructibly sweet and simple, and fit for all wear, high or low, suits the cottage or the palace, the garden or the field, the pretty and the ugly, the old and the young;

1905 George M.Cohan, Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway, Mary is a Grand Old Name ( a song)

For it was Mary; Mary / Plain as any name can be

But with propriety, society / Will say "Marie".

But it was Mary; Mary / Long before the fashions came

And there's something there that sounds so square / It's a grand old name.

Related terms

Marlene
Maryann
Maureen
May
Maya
Mayme
Mia
Moira
Mollie
Molly
Mya
Polly