Jastrow: מָרָה I

מָרָה I f. (b. h.) 1) fem. of מַר II, bitter. —2) bitter taste. Y. Ber. VI, 10ᵃ בטלה מָרָתָן their bitter taste is gone. —3) drop, poison (v. אֶרֶס). Ter. VIII, 5 המ׳ the serpent’s discharge.—Esp. gall, bile. Ḥull. III, 1; a. fr.—B. Mets. 107ᵇ (ref. to Ex. XXIII, 25) זו מ׳ that means (overflow of) bile, v. חָלָה.—Trnsf. austerity, gravity. Cant. R. to IV, 4 (play on מֹרִיָּה) שממנו יוצאת מ׳ לעולם (not יוצא) from it austerity (responsibility) went forth to the world. Keth. 103ᵇ זרוק מ׳ בתלמידים cast bile among the students (be austere against them). Sifré Deut. 323 (ref. to Deut. XXXII, 32 אשכלת מררת) הגדולים שבכם מָרָתָן פרוסה בכם כאשכל as to the great among you, their bile (austere rebuke) is distributed among you as the juice in the grapes; Yalk. ib. 946 מרתן פרוסה בהן וכ׳ their bile is distributed within them.