▪ I. marc
(mɑːk)
Also 7 marre, mare: and see murk.
[a. F. marc; explained by Hatz.-Darm. as a vbl. noun f. marcher in the sense ‘to crush’.
The c in the Fr. word is mute, even before a vowel; hence prob. the 17th c. Eng. forms marre, mare.]
a. The refuse which remains after the pressure of grapes or other fruits; spec. = marc brandy.
| 1601 Holland Pliny II. 530 The marre [ed. 1634 mare] or refuse of grapes after they be pressed. 1670 Evelyn Sylva viii. (ed. 2) 56 The Lees, or Marc of the Pressing [oil from walnuts] is excellent to fatten Hogs with. 1707 Sloane Jamaica I. p. xlv, The Marc or remainder of the Sugar Canes after the juice is squeezed out. 1707 Curios. in Husb. & Gard. 138 Marc of Olives after they are press'd. 1852 C. Morfit Tanning & Currying (1853) 45 The marc, or pressed cake, which still retains some tannin, is made to yield it. 1883 R. Haldane Workshop Receipts Ser. ii. 10/2 The juice and the refuse (‘marc’) are fermented. 1934 O. Sitwell Let. 15 Aug. in Mrs. Belloc Lowndes Diaries & Lett. (1971) 126 We settled them with a glass each of the strongest Marc-de-Bourgoyne. 1946 G. Millar Horned Pigeon xvi. 252 Ramon and Alban sat inside, drinking marc. Ibid. 253 Ramon ordered three more marcs. 1956 J. Baldwin Giovanni's Room ii. 44, I ordered black coffee and a cognac, a large one. Giovanni was far from me, drinking marc. |
b. attrib.: marc brandy, brandy distilled from marc.
| 1852 Fownes Man. Elem. Chem. (1863) 512 The fusel-oil of the marc-brandy of the South of France. |
▪ II. marc
obs. form of mark, marque1.