mark

Etymology 1

From Middle English mark, merk, merke, from Old English mearc (“mark, sign, line of division; standard; boundary, limit, term, border; defined area, district, province”), from Proto-West Germanic *marku, from Proto-Germanic *markō (“boundary; boundary marker”), from Proto-Indo-European *marǵ- (“edge, boundary, border”). Cognate with Dutch mark, merk (“mark, brand”), German Mark (“mark; borderland”), German Marke (“brand”), Swedish mark (“mark, land, territory”), Icelandic mark (“mark, sign”), Latin margo (“edge, margin”), Persian مرز (marz, “limit, boundary”), Sanskrit मर्या (maryā, “limit, mark, boundary”) and मार्ग (mārga, “mark, section”). Compare march.

noun

1. (heading) Boundary, land within a boundary.
   1. (obsolete) A boundary; a border or frontier.
   2. (obsolete) A boundary-post or fence.
   3. A stone or post used to indicate position and guide travellers.
      I do remember a great thron in Yatton field near Bristow-way, against which Sir William Waller's men made a great fire and killed it. I think the stump remains, and was a mark for travellers. 1859, Henry Bull, A history, military and municipal, of the ancient borough of the Devizes
   4. (archaic) A type of small region or principality.
      There dwells Théoden son of Thengel, King of the Mark of Rohan. 1954, J R R Tolkien, The Two Towers
   5. (historical) A common, or area of common land, especially among early Germanic peoples.
2. (heading) Characteristic, sign, visible impression.
   1. An omen; a symptomatic indicator of something.
   2. A characteristic feature.
      A good sense of manners is the mark of a true gentleman.
   3. A visible impression or sign; a blemish, scratch, or stain, whether accidental or intentional.
   4. A sign or brand on a person.
   5. A written character or sign.
      The font wasn't able to render all the diacritical marks properly.
   6. A stamp or other indication of provenance, quality etc.
      With eggs, you need to check for the quality mark before you buy.
      The mark of the artisan is found upon the most ancient fabrics that have come to light. 1876, Edward H. Knight, American Mechanical Dictionary
   7. (obsolete) Resemblance, likeness, image.
   8. A particular design or make of an item (now usually with following numeral).
      I am proud to present my patented travelator, mark two.
   9. A score for finding the correct answer, or other academic achievement; the sum of such points gained as out of a possible total.
      What mark did you get in your history test?
3. (heading) Indicator of position, objective etc.
   1. A target for shooting at with a projectile.
      A skilfull archer ought first to know the marke he aimeth at, and then apply his hand, his bow, his string, his arrow and his motion accordingly. , II.1
      To give them an accurate eye and strength of arm, none under twenty-four years of age might shoot at any standing mark, except it was for a rover, and then he was to change his mark at every shot; and no person above that age might shoot at any mark whose distance was less than eleven score yards. 1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 37
   2. An indication or sign used for reference or measurement.
      I filled the bottle up to the 500ml mark.
   3. (informal) The target or intended victim of a swindle, fixed game or con game; a gullible person.
      Dominic Di Grasso (Michael Imperioli): How are you gonna make it in life if you're this big a mark? Albie Di Grasso (Adam DiMarco): I'm not a mark. 2022-12-11, Mike White, “Arrivederci”, in Mike White, director, The White Lotus, season 2, episode 7, via HBO
   4. (obsolete) The female genitals.
   5. (Rugby football, Australian rules football) A catch of the ball directly from a kick of 10 metres or more without having been touched in transit, resulting in a free kick.
   6. (sports) The line indicating an athlete's starting-point.
   7. A score for a sporting achievement.
   8. An official note that is added to a record kept about someone's behavior or performance.
      A mark for tardiness or for absence is considered by most pupils a disgrace, and strenuous efforts are made to avoid such a mark. 1871, Chicago Board of Education, Annual Report, volume 17, page 102
   9. (cooking) A specified level on a scale denoting gas-powered oven temperatures.
      Now put the pastry in at 450 degrees, or mark 8.
   10. (product design/engineering) The model number of a device; a device model.
       The Mark I system had poor radar, and the Mark II was too expensive; regardless, most antiaircraft direction remained the responsibility of the Mark I Eyeball (as the jocular phrase calls it): that is, the operator's eye.
   11. Limit or standard of action or fact.
       to be within the mark
       to come up to the mark
   12. Badge or sign of honour, rank, or official station.
       In the official marks invested, you / Anon do meet the Senate. 1605, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Coriolanus
   13. (archaic) Preeminence; high position.
       patricians of mark
       a fellow of no mark
   14. (logic) A characteristic or essential attribute; a differential.
   15. (nautical) One of the bits of leather or coloured bunting placed upon a sounding line at intervals of from two to five fathoms. (The unmarked fathoms are called "deeps".)
4. (heading) Attention.
   1. (archaic) Attention, notice.
      His last comment is particularly worthy of mark.
   2. Importance, noteworthiness. (Generally in postmodifier “of mark”.)
      in the short story of western flavor he was a pioneer of mark, the founder of a genre: probably no other writer is so significant in his field. 1909, Richard Burton, Masters of the English Novel
   3. (obsolete) Regard; respect.
5. (professional wrestling slang) Condescending label of a wrestling fan who refuses to believe that pro wrestling is predetermined and/or choreographed.

verb

1. To put a mark on (something); to make (something) recognizable by a mark; to label or write on (something).
   to mark a box or bale of merchandise
   to mark clothing with one's name
   […] if you drink much from a bottle marked “poison,” it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later. 1865, Lewis Carroll, chapter 1, in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Boston: Lee and Shepard, published 1869, page 10
   Her son wrote badly, as if fearful of marking the page at all. 1969, William Trevor, chapter 11, in Mrs. Eckdorf in O’Neill’s Hotel, Penguin, published 1973, page 177
2. To leave a mark (often an undesirable or unwanted one) on (something).
   See where this pencil has marked the paper.
   The floor was marked with wine and blood.
   Those Wheels returning ne’er shall mark the Plain; 1717, Alexander Pope, transl., The Iliad of Homer, London: Bernard Lintott, Volume 3, Book 12, p. 229
3. (figurative) To have a long-lasting negative impact on (someone or something).
   The death of his wife, followed by months of being alone, had marked him with guilt and shame and had left an unbreaking loneliness on him. 1939, John Steinbeck, chapter 10, in The Grapes of Wrath, Penguin, published 1976, page 104
   What Uncle Marc had been through as a slave marked him, I’m sure, but I don’t know how much. How can you know what a man would be like if he had grown up unmarked by horror? 1998, Octavia Butler, Parable of the Talents, New York: Seven Stories Press, page 279
   It is time the international community faced the reality: we have an unmanageable, unfair, distortionary global tax regime. It is a tax system that is pivotal in creating the increasing inequality that marks most advanced countries today […]. 2013-06-07, Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalisation is about taxes too”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 19
4. To create an indication of (a location).
   She folded over the corner of the page to mark where she left off reading.
   Some animals mark their territory by urinating.
5. To be an indication of (something); to show where (something) is located.
   This monument marks the spot where Wolfe died.
   A bell marked the end of visiting hours.
   And where the jolly Troop [of elves and fairies] had led the round The Grass unbidden rose, and mark’d the Ground: 1700, John Dryden, “The Wife of Bath Her Tale”, in Fables Ancient and Modern, London: Jacob Tonson, page 479
   […] the lazy circling vultures marked the Hill of Execution, which was littered with human bones and scavenged by hyaenas. 1973, Jan Morris, Heaven’s Command: An Imperial Progress, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, published 1980, Part 1, Chapter 3, section 6, p. 61
   Her forehead, lashed deep with lines, marked her fifty-six years. 2019, Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, New York: Penguin, Part 1, p. 16
6. To indicate (something) in writing or by other symbols.
   Prices are marked on individual items.
   In her Bible, the words of Christ were marked in red.
   “What does the clock mark now?” “Eight minutes to seven.” 1875, Benjamin Farjeon, At the Sign of the Silver Flagon, New York: Harper, Part 3, Chapter 2, p. 84
7. To create (a mark) on a surface.
   […] on opening it [the handkerchief], I saw an S mark’d in one of the corners. 1768, Laurence Sterne, “Maria”, in A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy, volume 2, London: T. Becket and P.A. De Hondt, page 175
   I mark this cross of blood upon you, as a sign that I do it. 1859, Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, London: Chapman and Hall, Book 3, Chapter 10, p. 220
   […] I was testing a stack of old whitewalls, dunking them in the water and marking a yellow chalk circle around each leak. 1988, Barbara Kingsolver, chapter 6, in The Bean Trees, New York: HarperCollins, page 82
8. To celebrate or acknowledge (an event) through an action of some kind.
   The national holiday is marked by fireworks.
9. (of things) To identify (someone as a particular type of person or as having a particular role).
   His courage and energy marked him as a leader.
   […] the son approached her with a cheerful eagerness which marked her as his peculiar object, 1815, Jane Austen, chapter 8, in Emma, volume 2, London: John Murray, page 134
   The black dress, gold cross on the watch-chain, the hairless face, and the soft, black wideawake hat would have marked him as a holy man anywhere in all India. 1901, Rudyard Kipling, chapter 5, in Kim, London: Macmillan, published 1902, page 115
   His long thin falling-away cheekbones marked him as a member of either the Xhosa or Zulu tribe. 1968, Bessie Head, chapter 1, in When Rain Clouds Gather, Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, published 2013, page 1
   Enquiring about the movement of trains—even if you were a passenger on one—could mark you as a saboteur. 2016, Julian Barnes, The Noise of Time, Random House, Prologue
10. (of people) To assign (someone) to a particular category or class.
    The new captain would read the fitness report and mark him once and for all as an unreliable fool […] 1951, Herman Wouk, The Caine Mutiny, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Part 2, Chapter 10, p. 113
11. (of people) To choose or intend (someone) for a particular end or purpose.
    […] I know now that humankind marks certain people for death. 1970, Saul Bellow, chapter 5, in Mr. Sammler’s Planet, New York: Viking, page 230
12. To be a point in time or space at which something takes place; to accompany or be accompanied by (an event, action, etc.); to coincide with.
    The creek marks the boundary between the two farms.
    That summer marked the beginning of her obsession with cycling.
    Although the Second World War marked a turning away from inorganic chemicals as pesticides into the wonder world of the carbon molecule, a few of the old materials persist. 1962, Rachel Carson, chapter 3, in Silent Spring, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, page 17
    My grandfather’s short employ at the Ford Motor Company marked the only time any Stephanides has ever worked in the automobile industry. 2002, Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex, New York: Farrar, Straux, Giroux, page 93
13. To be typical or characteristic of (something).
    […] he still retained that simple, unostentatious elegance, that marks the man of real fashion 1818, Susan Ferrier, chapter 18, in Marriage, volume 3, Edinburgh: William Blackwood, page 264
    […] Cyril’s attitude to his mother was marked by a certain benevolent negligence 1908, Arnold Bennett, The Old Wives’ Tale, New York: Modern Library, published 1911, Book 4, Chapter 1, p. 487
14. To distinguish (one person or thing from another).
    Despite their obvious differences these poets had a common view of life which marks them from their predecessors […] 1943, Maurice Bowra, chapter 1, in The Heritage of Symbolism, London: Macmillan, published 1954, page 2
    Each day was so like the day before, and Christmas Day, when it came, would not have anything to mark it from all the others. 1983, Elizabeth George Speare, chapter 24, in The Sign of the Beaver,, New York: Dell, published 1984, page 127
15. (dated except in the phrase "mark my words") To focus one's attention on (something or someone); to pay attention to, to take note of.
    Mark my words: that boy’s up to no good.
    When they had passed out of the wood into the pasture-land beyond, Ruth once more turned to mark him. 1853, Elizabeth Gaskell, chapter 5, in Ruth, volume 1, London: Chapman and Hall, page 137
    When Wolsey came down, I said, mark him, he’s a sharp fellow. […] 2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, New York: Henry Holt, Part 6, Chapter 2, p. 522
16. (dated) To become aware of (something) through the physical senses.
    1881, John Bascom, “Improvements in Language” in The Western: A Journal of Literature, Education, and Art, New Series, Volume 7, No. 6, December, 1881, p. 499, […] it is to be remembered that a poor speller is a poor pronouncer. The ear does not mark the sound any more exactly than the eye marks the letters.
    Helm had a great horn, and soon it was marked that before he sallied forth he would blow a blast upon it that echoed in the Deep; 1955, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Return of the King, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, published 1965, Appendix A, pp. 347-348
17. To hold (someone) in one's line of sight.
    I marked my man, standing on the catwalk, and waited to throw [my javelin] till he started to climb inboard before they rammed. 1956, Mary Renault, chapter 22, in The Last of the Wine, New York: Pantheon, page 268
18. (Canada, UK) To indicate the correctness of and give a score to (a school assignment, exam answers, etc.).
    The teacher had to spend her weekend marking all the tests.
19. To record that (someone) has a particular status.
    to mark a student absent.
20. (transitive, intransitive) To keep account of; to enumerate and register; to keep score.
    to mark the points in a game of billiards or a card game
    Dan was to mark while the doctor and I played [billiards]. 1869, Mark Twain, chapter 12, in The Innocents Abroad, Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company, page 116
21. (sports) To follow a player not in possession of the ball when defending, to prevent them receiving a pass easily.
22. (Australian rules football) To catch the ball directly from a kick of 15 metres or more without having been touched in transit, resulting in a free kick.
23. (golf) To put a marker in the place of one's ball.
24. (singing) To sing softly, sometimes an octave lower than usual, in order to protect one's voice during a rehearsal.

Etymology 2

From Middle English mark, from Old English marc (“a denomination of weight (usu. half a pound), mark (money of account)”), from Proto-West Germanic *mark, from Proto-Germanic *marką (“mark, sign”), from Proto-Indo-European *marǵ- (“edge, boundary, border”). Cognate with Dutch mark (“mark”), Swedish mark (“a stamped coin”), Icelandic mörk (“a weight, usu. a pound, of silver or gold”). Doublet of markka.

noun

1. (historical) A half pound, a traditional unit of mass equivalent to 226.8 g.
2. (historical) Similar half-pound units in other measurement systems, chiefly used for gold and silver.
   As a reward for his poetry, Athelstan gave Egil two more gold rings weighing a mark each, along with an expensive cloak that the king himself had worn. 1997, “Egil's Saga”, in Bernard Scudder, transl., The Sagas of Icelanders, Penguin, published 2001, page 91
3. (historical) A half pound, a former English and Scottish currency equivalent to 13 shillings and fourpence and notionally equivalent to a mark of sterling silver.
   George, on receiving it, instantly rose from the side of one of them, and said, in the hearing of them all, ‘I will bet a hundred merks that is Drummond.’ 1824, James Hogg, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Oxford, published 2010, page 42
   He had been made a royal counsellor, drawing a substantial annual salary of a hundred marks. 2011, Thomas Penn, Winter King, Penguin, published 2012, page 167
4. (historical) Other similar currencies notionally equal to a mark of silver or gold.

Etymology 3

From German Mark, from Middle High German marc, marche, marke, from Old High German marc, from Proto-West Germanic *mark (whence etymology 2 via Old English marc). The identical plural is also from German.

noun

1. (historical) A former currency of Germany and West Germany.
   Aus der Geschichte der menschlichen Dummheit. By Dr. Max Kemmerich. Price 3 mark 50 pfennige. Bavaria: Verlag Albert Langen, Munich. 1928 November, “Reviews”, in The Occult Review, volume XLVIII, number 5, London: Rider & Co., page 356

Etymology 4

An alternate form supposedly easier to pronounce while giving commands.

verb

1. (imperative, marching) Alternative form of march.
   Mark time, mark!
   Forward, mark!