Mare vs mayor

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Grammarist

Mare and mayor are two words that are pronounced in the same way but are spelled differently and have different meanings, which makes them homophones. We will examine the definitions of mare and mayor, where these words came from and some examples of their use in sentences.

A mare is an adult female horse, donkey, burro or other equine animal. The word mare is derived from the Old English word mere, meaning female equine. The plural form is mares.

A mayor is the leader of a village, town or city who is elected. Generally, an American mayor is elected by the population of the town or city, while a British mayor is elected by council members. A British mayor is often merely ceremonial, while an American mayor is the chief executive of local government. The word mayor is derived from the Old French word maire meaning the head of town government. The plural form is mayors. When used as a title, the word mayor is capitalized.

Examples

Pure Country became the first female pacer to receive a Dan Patch Award at ages 2, 3 and 4 when she was recently named the sport’s best older pacing mare. (The York Dispatch)

The Greens adopted six mares in February 2017 from a wild horse advocacy group in South Dakota and brought them back to their home and began putting up fences and building a pasture for them. (The Herald Palladium)

Brede was a former campaign manager for Rochester Mayor Chuck Canfield when he decided to run for mayor himself. (The MInneapolis Star Tribune)

Delivering her second State of the City address Thursday night, Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis encouraged citizens to do more in the new year to embrace the city’s growing diversity and look out for one another. (The Register-Guard)