Borrowed from Old Norse mara, from Proto-Germanic *marǭ, cognate with Old English mare or mære. Doublet of mare. See nightmare.
Meanings
(European) A nightmare; a spectre or wraith-like creature in Germanic and particularly Scandinavian folklore; a female demon who torments people in sleep by crouching on their chests or stomachs, or by causing terrifying visions.
The corpus of related texts tells us that within rural society it was not improbable for your neighbour's envy of your fine cattle to take the form of a mara. 1996, Catharina Raudvere, “Now you see her, now you don't: some notes on the conception of female shape-shifters in Scandinavian traditions”, in Sandra Billington, Miranda Green, editors, The Concept of the Goddess, pages 41–55:
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maras
Number=Plur
lexicographic
Translations (10)
de Mahr ((folklore) a nightmare; spectre or wraith-like creature) · da mare ((folklore) a nightmare; spectre or wraith-like creature) · de Nachtmahr ((folklore) a nightmare; spectre or wraith-like creature) · sv mara ((folklore) a nightmare; spectre or wraith-like creature) · hy խիպիլիկ ((folklore) a nightmare; spectre or wraith-like creature) · ru ма́ра ((folklore) a nightmare; spectre or wraith-like creature) · wym ołp ((folklore) a nightmare; spectre or wraith-like creature) · hy ալք ((folklore) a nightmare; spectre or wraith-like creature) · da mareridt ((folklore) a nightmare; spectre or wraith-like creature) · de Alb ((folklore) a nightmare; spectre or wraith-like creature)
A type of god that prevents accomplishment or success.
Mara means demon, or demonic influence, that hinders the practice of virtue. It may be an external spirit or an aspect of our own imperfect condition. All hindrances on the path to liberation are subsumed under the four maras. The first mara is the mara of the aggregates.[…]The second of the maras is the mara of the afflictions, which are the same as the afflictive obstructions. They are identified as a mara because they precipitate all harmful actions, from malicious gossip to murder.[…]The third mara is Devaputra, literally "son of a god," an external troublemaker who specializes in interfering with beings who are endeavoring to achieve something positive.[…]The last mara is the mara of death. 2011, Graham Woodhouse, Lobsang Gyatso, Tsongkhapa's Praise for Dependent Relativity, Wisdom Publications, page 20:
Any malicious or evil spirit.
The mara is the spirit that causes illness, accidents, and mishaps. The only protection against it is another mara who befriends a person or a group. A mara who becomes friendly is called a gunik. This transformation occurs when a mara comes to a person in a dream and states a desire to be friendly. But there are deceitful maras who pretend to be friendly, yet will betray the person who trusts them. 2002, Sarvananda Bluestone, The World Dream Book, page 73:
my မာရ် (Buddhism: a malicious or evil spirit) · si මාරයා (Buddhism: a malicious or evil spirit) · ja 魔羅 (Buddhism: a malicious or evil spirit) · th มาร (Buddhism: a malicious or evil spirit) · cmn 魔羅 /魔罗 (Buddhism: a malicious or evil spirit) · my မာရ်နတ် (Buddhism: a malicious or evil spirit) · km មារ (Buddhism: a malicious or evil spirit) · ja 魔羅 (Buddhism: god preventing accomplishment or success) · cmn 天魔 (Buddhism: a malicious or evil spirit) · vi Thiên Ma (Buddhism: a malicious or evil spirit)
Any caviid rodent of the genus Dolichotis, common in the Patagonian steppes of Argentina.
Although only Dolichotis, the Patagonian mara, is strongly cursorial, all caviids have certain features typical of cursorial mammals[…]. 2011, Terry A. Vaughan, James M. Ryan, Nicholas J. Czaplewski, Mammalogy, 5th edition, page 228:
Maras have a white patch of fur on the rump that they flash when running, an adaptation they share with several species of deer and antelopes. 1999, Michael A. Mares, editor, Encyclopedia of Deserts, Mara, page 349:
Maras (Dolichotis patagonum) are cursorial and prefer open areas with low vegetation for breeding and more barren sites for construction of communal dens (Taber and Macdonald 1992; Baldi 2007). 2013, R. L. Honeycutt, “Chapter 3: Phylogenetics of Caviomorph Rodents and Genetic Perspectives on the Evolution of Sociality and Mating Systems in the Caviidae”, in José Roberto Moreira, Katia Maria P.M.B. Ferraz, Emilio A. Herrera, David W. Macdonald, editors, Capybara: Biology, Use and Conservation of an Exceptional Neotropical Species, page 70: