# mara

/ˈmɑɹə/ (US) · /mˈɑːɹɐ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/mara
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. nightmare spirit

noun · CEFR C2 · Archaic · Literary

a female demon from old European stories who sits on people's chests while they sleep to give them nightmares.

For teachers: a malevolent female entity in Germanic and Scandinavian folklore believed to cause nightmares by sitting on the sleeper's chest.

- In the old legend, the mara would visit the village at night to steal people's breath.
- The etymology of 'nightmare' is rooted in the belief that a mara would crouch upon the dreamer, inducing a state of suffocating terror.

Usage: Often used in the context of folklore or historical linguistics to explain the origin of the word 'nightmare'.

### 2. a rodent

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a large rodent from South America that looks a bit like a long-legged rabbit.

For teachers: a large caviid rodent of the genus Dolichotis, native to the open habitats of Argentina.

- We saw a Patagonian mara at the zoo, and it looked like a mix between a deer and a rabbit.
- The Patagonian mara is one of the world's largest rodents, notable for its monogamous breeding pairs and cursorial adaptations.

Teaching tip: In a general context, learners are more likely to encounter this in nature documentaries or zoological texts.

### 3. criminal gang

noun · CEFR C1 · American English · Informal

a type of violent criminal gang, especially one from Central or North America.

For teachers: a form of organized criminal gang originating in Central America, particularly El Salvador, and active in the United States.

- The news report discussed the influence of the mara in the city's suburbs.
- Law enforcement agencies have spent decades developing strategies to dismantle the transnational networks of the mara.

Teaching tip: This term is highly specific to news reporting on crime in the Americas; it is rarely used for gangs in other regions.

## Examples

- Old legends tell of a mara that visits people at night.
- The painting depicts a mara sitting heavily upon a sleeping woman, illustrating the folklore behind sleep paralysis.
- In medieval superstition, the mara was not merely a dream but a physical weight that oppressed the sleeper, a concept that persists linguistically in several European languages.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.