maria

Multiple Entries:
  maria    mare  

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
maria/ˈmarɪə/

plural form of mare2.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
mare1 /mɛː/

▶noun the female of a horse or other equine animal.

– origin OE mearh ‘horse’, mere ‘mare’, from a Gmc base.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
mare2 /ˈmɑːreɪ, -ri/

▶noun (pl. maria /ˈmɑːrɪə/) Astronomy a large, level basalt plain on the surface of the moon, appearing dark by contrast with highland areas.

– origin C19: special use of L. mare ‘sea’; these areas were once thought to be seas.