# marble



## elroy

I’ve always found it curious that English uses the same word for marble the stone (uncountable) and marble the toy (countable), since they don’t seem to have anything to do with each other.

In Palestinian Arabic the words are totally different:

marble the stone: رخام /rxa:m/
marble the toy: غُل /gul/ or بنّور /bannu:r/

What are these called in other languages?  Does any language use the same word for both, or related words?


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## Yendred

For the toy, isn't it used only in plural? _Marbles_?

In French:
_Marble_ (stone) = _marbre_
_Marbles_ (toy) = _billes_ (oddly enough, cognate with Dutch _bikkil_ and German _bickel = __dice_)
Italian has a similar word: _bi(g)lie_


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## AndrasBP

elroy said:


> I’ve always found it curious that English uses the same word for marble the stone (uncountable) and marble the toy (countable), since they don’t seem to have anything to do with each other.


Well, marbles used to be made of marble.  
This is a bit like German '*Blei*stift' (pencil, literally 'lead stick'), which today has graphite inside.

In Hungarian:

marble the stone: *márvány */ˈmaːrvaːɲ/
marble the toy: *üveggolyó */ˈyvɛggojoː/, lit. 'glass ball'


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## Olaszinhok

Yendred said:


> Italian has a similar word: _bi(g)lie_


Yes, it does The pronunciation is different, though.


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## Yendred

Olaszinhok said:


> The pronunciation is different, though.


[bilje] isn't it?


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## Olaszinhok

Yendred said:


> [bilje] isn't it?


It's actually ˈbiʎʎe with a geminated ʎ.


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## serbianfan

I don't know if the word for "marbles" in any other languages includes the sound marbles make when you play with them, but in Norwegian they are "klinkekuler", "kuler" being round objects and "klinke" being... well, the "klink" sound you get when one marble hits another.


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## pimlicodude

Yendred said:


> For the toy, isn't it used only in plural? _Marbles_?
> 
> In French:
> _Marble_ (stone) = _marbre_
> _Marbles_ (toy) = _billes_ (oddly enough, cognate with Dutch _bikkil_ and German _bickel = __dice_)
> Italian has a similar word: _bi(g)lie_


It's not only used in the plural. Yes, it would be "a game of marbles". But if one marble has rolled under the sofa, then that is referred to in the singular.


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## apmoy70

Greek:

Marble (stone): *«Μάρμαρο»* [ˈmarmaɾo̞] (neut.) < Classical masc. noun *«μάρμαρος» mắrmărŏs*.

Marble (toy): *«Bώλος»* [ˈvo̞lo̞s̠] (masc.) < Classical fem. noun *«βῶλος» bôlŏs* --> _lump, clod of earth_ (possibly from PIE *bʰel- _to blow, swell up_ with coɡnates the Latin flāre, Proto-Germanic *balluz > Ger. Ball, Enɡ. ball, Dt. bal)


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## Demiurg

German:
marble (stone): Marmor
marble (toy): Murmel



serbianfan said:


> I don't know if the word for "marbles" in any other languages includes the sound marbles make when you play with them, but in Norwegian they are "klinkekuler", "kuler" being round objects and "klinke" being... well, the "klink" sound you get when one marble hits another.


 

In my local German dialect, the toy is called "Klicker".


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## AndrasBP

elroy said:


> or related words?





Demiurg said:


> German:
> marble (stone): Marmor
> marble (toy): Murmel


The German words are etymological doublets: 'Murmel' derives from Latin 'marmor'.


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## Yendred

Yendred said:


> In French:
> _Marbles_ (toy) = _billes_


By the way, there are many French expressions with _bille(s)_, for instance:
_bille en tête_  straightaway, head-on
_reprendre ses billes_  to take one's marbles back, to pull out, to withdraw (from an agreement, a project...)
_toucher sa bille_  to be very competent, to be clever
_prendre pour une bille_  to make a fool, to make fun of someone


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## סייבר־שד

- In Spanish we use different words:

• *mármol *(the stone)
• *canica *(the toy)

Until now I had never thought of looking up the etymology of the second word, but apparently it comes from Dutch *knikker*, through French *canique*. The latter, according to the Wiktionary is used in Louisiana to mean either the toy, or a testicle. 

I've seen some English-Spanish dictionaries offer the alternative *bolita *for *marble *in the toy meaning, but with the label _(South American Spanish)_. I don't know how much that one is used over there, but I can say I've never heard it here in Mexico.

- Hebrew also uses clearly unrelated words:

• *שיש *[ʃaiʃ] (the stone)
• *גולה *[ɡuˈla] (the toy)

- As does Italian, too:

• *marmo *(the stone)
• *pallina *(the toy)


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## Olaszinhok

סייבר־שד said:


> As does Italian, too:
> 
> • *marmo *(the stone)
> • *pallina *(the toy)


*Pallina di vetro* o *biglia *as we said above  Anyway, to play marbles is *giocare a biglie* in Italian.
_Pallina_ has more than one meaning in Italian.


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## Roxxxannne

elroy said:


> I’ve always found it curious that English uses the same word for marble the stone (uncountable) and marble the toy (countable), since they don’t seem to have anything to do with each other.


They don't have anything to do with each other now, but the toy was made of marble centuries ago and the word stuck.


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## Zareza

apmoy70 said:


> Marble (stone): *«Μάρμαρο»* [ˈmarmaɾo̞] (neut.) < Classical masc. noun *«μάρμαρος» mắrmărŏs*.


That's how I found out that the Sea of Marmara, also known as the Marmara Sea, takes its name from Marmara Island, which is rich in sources of marble, from the Greek μάρμᾰρον (mármaron) "marble."


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## Yendred

Zareza said:


> Greek μάρμᾰρον (mármaron) "marble."


Yes indeed. It has given through Latin the adjective _marmoreal_ (= _that looks like marble_).


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## Penyafort

Yendred said:


> In French:
> _Marble_ (stone) = _marbre_
> _Marbles_ (toy) = _billes_ (oddly enough, cognate with Dutch _bikkil_ and German _bickel = __dice_)
> Italian has a similar word: _bi(g)lie_



In Catalan, we also say *marbre *[má(ɾ)βɾə] for marble, but for us, _bitlles _are bowling pins.

For the marbles, we say *bales*, that is, we use the same word as for _bullets_. Locally, the word may change, though. There is even a variant coming from English, _*mèrvels*_, used in Minorca --these very adapted Anglicisms in Minorcan Catalan come from the 18th century, when the island was a British possession.


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## Yendred

Penyafort said:


> for us, _bitlles _are bowling pins



We call these _quilles /kij/ (de bowling)_. It's cognate with German _Kegel _(same meaning).


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## Welsh_Sion

*Cymraeg/Welsh*

marble (the stone): *marmor *(n.m.) Archaic/Literary: *maen* (n.m.) *clais, mynor *(n.m.)

marble (the toy): *marblen* (n.f.)

a large toy marble: *to* (n.m.), North: *togo* (n.m.), *to tsieni, to-jin,* South East: *bompar* (n.m.), South West: *clapen* (n.f.)

a small toy marble: South: *pilcyn* (n.m.), *siapin* (n.m.) *to*

a glass toy marble (with colours): South: *ali* (n.f.) *bert*
_________

Has no one mentioned _marble cake - _*teisen*_ (n.f.)_* frith/fraith *'speckled cake' ?


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## Yendred

Welsh_Sion said:


> Has no one mentioned _marble cake_


In French, no surprise, we call it _gâteau marbré_ (sometimes just _marbré_).


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## סייבר־שד

Yendred said:


> In French, no surprise, we call it _gâteau marbré_ (sometimes just _marbré_).


No shocks in Spanish, either. Here in Mexico we call it mostly *rosca marmoleada*.


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## apmoy70

Yendred said:


> In French:
> ...
> _Marbles_ (toy) = _billes_ (oddly enough, cognate with Dutch _bikkil_ and German _bickel = __dice_)
> Italian has a similar word: _bi(g)lie_


We call the game of marbles *«μπίλιες»* [ˈɱbiʎe̞s̠] or [ˈbiʎe̞s̠] (fem. nom. pl.) < It. bi(ɡ)lia.


Penyafort said:


> In Catalan, we also say *marbre *[má(ɾ)βɾə] for marble, but for us, _bitlles _are *bowling pins*...


These are called *«κορίνα/κορύνα»* [ko̞ˈɾina] (fem. nom. sinɡ.), *«κορίνες/κορύνες»* [ko̞ˈɾine̞s̠] (fem. nom. pl.) in Greek (both spellings are common) < Classical fem. noun *«κορύνη» kŏrúnē* --> _club, mace, knobby bud_ or _shoot_, (slanɡ) _penis_ (possibly related to the 3rd declension fem. noun *«κόρυς» kórŭs* (nom. sinɡ.), *«κόρυθος» kórŭtʰŏs* (ɡen. sinɡ.) --> _helmet_, a Pre-Greek substrate word).


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## Graciela J

סייבר־שד said:


> I've seen some English-Spanish dictionaries offer the alternative *bolita *for *marble *in the toy meaning, but with the label _(South American Spanish)_. I don't know how much that one is used over there, but I can say I've never heard it here in Mexico.



Yes, *bolitas* is used here in Argentina and in other South America countries.

*bolita*.
I.    1.    f. pl. _Pe, Bo, Ch, Ar, Ur._ Juego de niños que se practica con bolas pequeñas de barro, vidrio u otra materia dura. 
2.    f. _Pe, Bo, Ch, Ar, Ur._ Bola que se utiliza en el juego de las bolitas. pop + cult → espon.

(Diccionario de americanismos)


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## serbianfan

Demiurg said:


> In my local German dialect, the toy is called "Klicker".


And do children, by any chance, say 'Wollen wir klicken' instead of 'Wollen wir Klicker spielen'? In Norway, the kids often say 'Skal vi klinke" (Let's clink) instead of saying 'Let's play marbles'.


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## AquisM

EnglishCantoneseCant. lit.MandarinMand. lit.JapaneseJap. lit.marble (stone)雲石 (云石)
(also formal/technical 大理石)cloud* stone大理石_Dali_^ stone大理石_Dali_^ stonemarble (toy)波子ball + _diminutive_彈珠 (弹珠)pellet beadビー玉glass# bead

(Simplified Chinese in brackets)

*Apart from the obvious explanation that the swirly patterns of marble resemble clouds, there are several competing theories on the origin of this term, most of which make reference to places that supposedly produce high-quality marble and have 雲 in their name.

^Place in China, historically known for producing high-quality marble

#ビー _bī_ = clipping of ビードロ _bīdoro_ (now archaic), borrowed from Portuguese _vidro_ "glass"


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## elroy

What a marble-ous post! 🔮


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## AquisM

elroy said:


> What a marble-ous post! 🔮


This pun rocks.😉😉


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## Włoskipolak 72

Polish 

marble - marmur
marble (toy) - szklana kula (glass ball)


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