March

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Origin: Latin, Proto-Indo-European, Welsh

Meaning: the name of the third month of the year, it derives its name from Latin Martius, derived from the name of the Roman god of war Mars (the Roman counterpart to Greek Ares) a name of uncertain etymology though it's possible that Mars was derived from an older source, perhaps from from Etruscan Maris (the god of fertility and agriculture) of unknown meaning. Mars could also be the contracted form of an older name, Mavors (or Mavort) which could come from Latin verb mah or margh (to cut) and vor (to turn), essentially meaning "turner of the battle".

Mars could also be derived from the same  Proto-Indian-European root as Sanskrit marici meaning "ray of light", or Proto-Indian-European mer meaning "to die". It could also be associated with Latin marceo meaning "to (cause to) wither" and "to (make) shrivel" and Latin marcus meaning "hammer".

March is also a word, referring to those who walk in a measured and deliberate manner, such as soldiers, which seems to be derived from Old French marchier (to march, to tread) which ultimately derives from Frankish markon (to mark, pace out) from a Proto-Indo-European root word mereg meaning "edge, boundary".

A march also refers to a tract of land along the border of a country, also derived from Proto-Indo-European mereg (edge, boundary), such as the Marches in Britain which refers to a belt of land on the boundary with Wales.

March is also the Welsh form of Mark (though it's pronounced the same as the latter), as well as being a Welsh word meaning "stallion, steed, horse"

Variants:

• Marche