MARE  , the

English term for the female of any animal of the family Equidae, of the ass, or zebra, but particularly of the horse . It is also used of the camel . To find a " mare's nest " is an old proverbial saying for a purely imaginary discovery . In " night-mare," an oppressive or terrifying dream, the termination is a word appearing as mar, maer and mara in various Teutoniclanguages for a goblin, supposed to sit on a sleeper's chest and cause these dreams: cf. elf . This Teutonic word also appears in the French cauchemar, the first part being from caucher, to tread or trample upon, Lat. calcare .