marga

See also: Marga, mārga, and márga

English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Sanskrit मार्ग (mārga). Doublet of marg.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑːɡə/
• Rhymes: (UK) -ɑːɡə

Noun

marga (countable and uncountable, plural margas)

1. (South Asia) The canon of established forms of classical music, dance etc., as opposed to modern or regional developments. [from 19th c.]
2. (Hinduism, yoga) Any of various paths or courses seen as leading to enlightenment. [from 20th c.]
3. (Buddhism) The noble eightfold path. [from 20th c.]

Derived terms

• karma-marga

Etymology 2

From Jamaican Creole mawga, derived from English meagre.

Pronunciation

• (MLE) IPA^(key): [mɑːɡɐ]

Noun

marga (plural margas)

1. (MLE, vulgar) Someone of undernourished figure.
   • 2018 June 25, K.O., “Rolling Round”‎^[1], 1:05–1:07:

     Bro said he really don't lack to much
     I reply, can't you see it's a marga

   • 2020 April 14, Russ Millions, “Playground 2”‎^[2], 1:00–1:03:

     Big Russ, not marga
     I still got a crush on Zara

   • 2023, Nathan Bryon, Tom Melia, directed by Raine Allen-Miller, Rye Lane, spoken by Tanice (Llewella Gideon):

     That marga boy you brought round… […] He ain't your type, baby.

Anagrams

• Magar, grama, ragam, rāgam

Balinese

Etymology

From Old Javanese mārga (“road, path”), from Sanskrit मार्ग (mārga, “way, road, route, path”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /marɡə/

Noun

marga (Balinese script ᬫᬵᬃᬕ or ᬫᬃᬕ or ᬫᬵᬃᬕ᭄ᬕ)

1. road

Further reading

• “marga”, in Balinese–Indonesian Dictionary [Kamus Bahasa Bali–Indonesia] (in Balinese), Denpasar, Indonesia: The Linguistic Center of Bali Province [Balai Bahasa Provinsi Bali].

Estonian

Noun

marga

1. genitive singular of mark

Fula

Noun

marga o

1. store, shop, depot
2. (historical) an agricultural village, farm, agricultural lands with homes on it

References

• Oumar Bah, Dictionnaire Pular-Français, Avec un index français-pular, Webonary.org, SIL International, 2014.

Indonesian

Etymology

• Ultimately from Pali magga (“oath; road”) and Sanskrit मार्ग (mārga, “reach, range; mark, scar; track of a wild animal”), vṛddhi derivative of मृग (mṛga, “game animal; deer”).
  • Inherited from Malay marga (“wild animal”), from Classical Malay marga, from Old Malay margga (“track, way”) (as in Talang Tuwo inscription (684 CE)), came from above.
  • The sense of clan is a semantic loan from Toba Batak marga (“clan”), came from above.
  • The sense of hamlet is a semantic loan from Musi marga (“hamlet”), came from above.
  • The sense of road is a semantic loan from Javanese ꦩꦂꦒ (marga, “road”), came from above.
  • The sense of genus is a semantic loan from Dutch geslacht (“genus”, literally “lineage”). Compare to Chinese 屬／属.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈmarɡa/ [ˈmar.ɡa]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -arɡa
• Syllabification: mar‧ga

Noun

marga (plural marga-marga)

1. (obsolete) wild animal
2. surname; family name
3. (anthropology) clan

   Synonym: klan

   1. specifically, the marga, Batak clan
4. (historical) the subdivision in South Sumatra, located above villages and below districts (kecamatan)
5. (biology, taxonomy) genus, a rank in the classification of organisms, below family and above species; a taxon at that rank

   Synonym: genus

6. (only in compounds) way, road, route, path

   Direktorat Jenderal Bina Marga ― General Directorate of Road Development

   Jasa Marga ― Road Service

   Synonym: jalan

Derived terms

• adimarga
• bermarga
• kemargaan
• memargakan
• pemargaan
• semarga

• marga ketip
• marga khusus
• marga laju
• marga monotipe
• margasatwa

Further reading

• “marga”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Javanese

Romanization

marga

1. romanization of ꦩꦂꦒ

Latin

Etymology

From Celtic, probably Gaulish (Pliny). The word has been compared to Breton marg as well as the placename Margidinum; compare Welsh marian (“rocks, pebbles, grit”) from Proto-Brythonic *marɣ-, but probably ultimately of Pre-Celtic substrate origin. Compare Aldo murgia.

Noun

marga f (genitive margae); first declension

1. (geology) marl

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	marga	margae
genitive	margae	margārum
dative	margae	margīs
accusative	margam	margās
ablative	margā	margīs
vocative	marga	margae

Derived terms

• margila
  • Old French: marle
    • French: marne
    • → Middle English: marle, marl, merle
      • English: marl
      • Scots: marl
      • Yola: maarl
      • → Irish: marla, márla (superseded)
        • → English: marla

References

• “marga”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "marga", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• Transactions of the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire, Volumes 109-110, p. 46
• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke, et al., editors (1950–present), “marian”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
• An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Mergel

Old Norse

Adjective

marga

1. inflection of margr:
   1. strong feminine accusative singular
   2. strong masculine accusative plural
   3. weak feminine nominative singular
   4. weak masculine accusative/dative/genitive singular
   5. weak neuter singular

Noun

marga

1. accusative/genitive plural of margr

Oromo

Etymology

Borrowed from Ethiopian Semitic.

Noun

márga

1. grass

Derived terms

• bifa margaa (“green; colour of grass”)

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmar.ɡa/
• Rhymes: -arɡa
• Syllabification: mar‧ga

Verb

marga

1. third-person singular present indicative of margać

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin marga, from Celtic/Gaulish.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmaʁ.ɡɐ/ [ˈmaɦ.ɡɐ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmaʁ.ɡɐ/ [ˈmaɦ.ɡɐ]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ˈmaɾ.ɡɐ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈmaʁ.ɡɐ/
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /ˈmaɻ.ɡɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmaʁ.ɡa/ [ˈmaɦ.ɡa]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmaɾ.ɡɐ/ [ˈmaɾ.ɣɐ]

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -aʁɡɐ, (Portugal) -aɾɡɐ
• Hyphenation: mar‧ga

Noun

marga f (plural margas)

1. (geology) marl (lime-rich mud)

Derived terms

• margar

Further reading

• “marga”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “marga”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “marga”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “marga”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin marga, from Celtic/Gaulish.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaɾɡa/ [ˈmaɾ.ɣ̞a]
• Rhymes: -aɾɡa
• Syllabification: mar‧ga

Noun

marga f (plural margas)

1. (geology) marl

Derived terms

• margoso
• marguera

Further reading

• “marga”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025