Marten
//ˈmɑɹ.tən// name, noun
name, noun ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any carnivorous mammal of the genus Martes.
- 2 Archaic form of martin (the bird). alt-of, archaic
"Towards the end of the month, swallows and house martens congregate, and are often seen resting on the ridges or sloping roofs of buildings."
- 3 agile slender-bodied arboreal mustelids somewhat larger than weasels wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
More examples"Looking closer at the photos, I could tell that the weasel was an American marten by the light color of the fur on its throat."
Etymology
From Middle English martren, martryn, from Old French martrine (“marten fur”), from Old Dutch *marthrīn (“of marten fur”), from *marthar (“marten”). Displaced related Old English mearþ, from Proto-Germanic *marþuz.
Related phrases
More for "marten"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.