March

How to spell march

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce march

What does march mean?

1. verbTo walk in a steady, deliberate way, often in step with others or with firm purpose.
2. nounAn organised walk by many people, or the act of walking in step.

March in a sentence

• verb

  The soldiers had to march for several miles before reaching camp.

• noun

  The long march left the recruits exhausted by nightfall.

• verb

  Thousands of protesters planned to march through the city centre.

• noun

  Organisers expected a peaceful march down the main avenue.

Where does march come from?

Language of origin: French

This word arrived in English in the 1300s from the Old French verb marchier, which meant 'to tread' or 'to walk', and which described the steady, deliberate movement of feet over ground. The French verb is thought to derive from a Frankish (West Germanic) source related to 'marka', meaning a boundary or border region, with the early sense of treading or marking out frontier land. From the start the English word carried military overtones, the rhythmic walking of soldiers in formation, and from there it broadened to mean any organised group walking together, including a protest march. The musical sense, a piece written in steady time for marching, grew out of the same idea. There is no silent letter trap here; the spelling is regular and matches the sound, which keeps it fairly easy for adults.

How the word is built

• march (from Old French marchier: to tread, walk)