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 *mórǵs (“edge, boundary, border”). Compare march. Cognates * Dutch mark, merk (“mark, brand”) * German Mark (“mark; borderland”), Marke (“mark, brand”) * Swedish mark (“mark, land, territory”) * Icelandic mark (“mark, sign”) * Latin margō (“edge, margin”) * Persian مرز (marz, “limit, boundary”) * Sanskrit मर्या (maryā, “limit, mark, boundary”), मार्ग (mārga, “mark, section”).
Heading 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:
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Heading, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports The line indicating an athlete's starting-point.
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HeadingArchaic 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:
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HeadingHistorical A common, or area of common land, especially among early Germanic peoples.
› Characteristic, sign, indication for…
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Heading An omen; a symptomatic indicator of something.
depend upon it, you will speedily receive from me a letter of thanks for this as well as for every other mark of your regard during my stay in Hertfordshire.1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:
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Heading A characteristic feature.
A good sense of manners is the mark of a true gentleman.
there is surely a physiognomy, which those experienced and master mendicants observe, whereby they instantly discover a merciful aspect, and will single out a face, wherein they spy the signatures and marks of mercy.1642, [Thomas Browne], “(please specify the page)”, in Religio Medici, London: […] Andrew Crooke, →OCLC:
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Heading A visible impression or sign; a blemish, scratch, or stain, whether accidental or intentional.
Then she put before her face her poor crushed hands, which bore on their whiteness the red mark of the Count's terrible grip[…].1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable and Company, […], →OCLC:
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Heading A sign or brand on a person.
Doubt not of thine election, it is an immutable decree; a mark never to be defaced: you have been otherwise, you may and shall be.1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “III.iv.2.6”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:
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Heading A written character or sign.
The font wasn't able to render all the diacritical marks properly.
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Heading A stamp or other indication of provenance, quality etc.
With eggs, you need to check for the quality mark before you buy.
But vvhat a vvretched, and diſconſolate Hermitage is that Houſe, vvhich is not viſited by thee [God], and vvhat a VVayue, and Stray is that Man, that hath not thy Markes vpon him?1624, John Donne, “13. Prayer”, in Deuotions upon Emergent Occasions, and Seuerall Steps in My Sicknes: […], London: […] A[ugustine] M[atthews] for Thomas Iones, →OCLC, page 329:
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The mark of the artisan is found upon the most ancient fabrics that have come to light.1876, Edward H. Knight, American Mechanical Dictionary:
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Heading 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:
Heading, Human sciences, Logic, Mathematics, Philosophy, Sciences A characteristic or essential attribute; a differential.
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Heading An indication or sign used for reference or measurement.
I filled the bottle up to the 500 ml mark.
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Cooking, Food, Heading, Lifestyle A specified level on a scale denoting gas-powered oven temperatures.
Now put the pastry in at 450 degrees, or mark 8.
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Heading, Nautical, Transport 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".)
Heading A particular design or make of an item (now usually with following numeral).
I am proud to present my patented travelator, mark two.
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Heading The model number of a device; a device model.
Product design/engineering
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.
› Score, grade, or related judgement.
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HeadingCommonwealth 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?
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Heading A score for a sporting achievement.
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Heading 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:
› Target or indicator.
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Heading 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:
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HeadingInformal The target or intended victim of a swindle, fixed game or con game; a gullible person.
Another common form of short con is the shell game. This scam has the advantage of giving the criminal the ability to rip off many marks all at one location.2009, Michael Benson, Cons and Frauds, Infobase, →ISBN, page 21:
[Xi Jinping] asked for Trump's personal attention to the issue, probably figuring he had identified his mark and wasn't going to let him get away.2020 June 23, John Bolton, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 313:
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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 December 11, Mike White, “Arrivederci”, in Mike White, director, The White Lotus, season 2, episode 7, via HBO:
But faults so countenanced, that the strong statutes Stand like the forfeits in a barber's shop, as much in mock as mark1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure:
Heading 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:
A mark saies my Lady. Let the mark haue a prick in't, to meate at, if it may be.c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:
her thighs were still spread, and the mark lay fair for him, who, now kneeling between them, displayed to us a side-view of that fierce erect machine of his[…].1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC:
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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.
Rugby football; Australian rules football; Rugby football; Australian rules football
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 *mórǵs (“edge, boundary, border”). Compare march. Cognates * Dutch mark, merk (“mark, brand”) * German Mark (“mark; borderland”), Marke (“mark, brand”) * Swedish mark (“mark, land, territory”) * Icelandic mark (“mark, sign”) * Latin margō (“edge, margin”) * Persian مرز (marz, “limit, boundary”) * Sanskrit मर्या (maryā, “limit, mark, boundary”), मार्ग (mārga, “mark, section”).
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
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[I]f you drink much from a bottle marked “poison,” it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later.1865 November (indicated as 1866), Lewis Carroll [pseudonym; Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], “Down the Rabbit-Hole”, in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, London: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, 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:
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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.
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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:
Advertisements are from time to time inserted, stating that slaves have escaped […] marked with the lash, branded with red-hot irons, the initials of their master’s name burned into their flesh;1855, Frederick Douglass, “speech given on 12 May, 1846. Appendix.”, in My Bondage and My Freedom. […], New York; Auburn, N.Y.: Miller, Orton & Mulligan […], →OCLC, part II (Life as a Freeman), page 410:
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Figuratively 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:
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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 June 7, Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalisation is about taxes too”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 19:
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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.
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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.
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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:
She gave her an answer which marked her contempt, and instantly left the room,1811, [Jane Austen], chapter 4, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 49:
[…] the cloth was laid for him […] and a plate laid thereon to mark that the table was retained,1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 58, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 528:
[…] 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:
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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.
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[…] it was in the middle of May, on the sixteenth Day I think, as well as my poor wooden Calendar would reckon; for I markt all upon the Post still;1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 219:
“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:
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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:
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[…] 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:
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To celebrate or acknowledge (an event) through an action of some kind.
The national holiday is marked by fireworks.
It was only four thirty but Gerald was marking his guests’ arrival with a Pimm’s, […]2004, Alan Hollinghurst, chapter 11, in The Line of Beauty […], 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 276:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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Of people To choose or intend (someone) for a particular end or purpose.
When a king, hath once markt for his hate, / A man inferior; […] / […] euermore, he rakes vp in his brest, / Brands of quicke anger;[1611?], Homer, “The First Booke of Homers Iliads”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., The Iliads of Homer Prince of Poets. […], London: […] Nathaniell Butter, →OCLC, page 28:
[…] 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:
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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.
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[…] we hastened toward the bordering desert which marked our entrance into the realm of Tal Hajus.1912 February–July, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Under the Moons of Mars”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as chapter 16, in A Princess of Mars, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., October 1917, →OCLC, page 172:
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:
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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:
“Ah,” replied Roger Chillingworth, with that quietness which […] marked all his deportment,1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, chapter 9, in The Scarlet Letter, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC, page 145:
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[…] Cyril’s attitude to his mother was marked by a certain benevolent negligence1908, Arnold Bennett, The Old Wives’ Tale, New York: Modern Library, published 1911, Book 4, Chapter 1, p. 487:
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To distinguish (one person or thing from another).
Indeed the smoke was such they scarce could mark Their friends from foes,1823 July 15, [Lord Byron], Don Juan. Cantos VI.—VII.—and VIII., London: […] [C. H. Reynell] for John Hunt, […], →OCLC, canto VIII, stanza 130, page 313:
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:
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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:
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To focus one's attention on (something or someone); to pay attention to, to take note of.
Dated except in the phrase "mark my words"
Mark my words: that boy’s up to no good.
More are men’s ends mark’d than their lives before:1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene 1]:
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I wonder that you will still be talking, Signior Benedick: nobody marks you.1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 37:37:
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:
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Dated To become aware of (something) through the physical senses.
Some of them [the Animals] coming forward near the place where I lay, gave me an opportunity of distinctly marking their Form.1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, (please specify |part=I to IV), page 161:
He bent his eyes involuntarily upon the father as he spoke, and marked his uneasiness, for he coloured directly and turned his head away.1838 March – 1839 October, Charles Dickens, chapter 53, in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1839, →OCLC, page 525:
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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:
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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:
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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.
Under the proposals, an assurance is given that GBR (in the words of the plan) will not be marking its own homework.2024 May 15, 'Industry Insider', “Labour's plan for the railway”, in RAIL, number 1009, page 68:
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To record that (someone) has a particular status.
to mark a student absent.
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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:
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Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports To follow a player not in possession of the ball when defending, to prevent them receiving a pass easily.
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To catch the ball directly from a kick of 15 metres or more without having been touched in transit, resulting in a free kick.
Australian rules football
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Golf, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports To put a marker in the place of one's ball.
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To sing softly, sometimes an octave lower than usual, in order to protect one's voice during a rehearsal.
Etymology 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”). Cognate with Dutch mark (“mark”), Swedish mark (“a stamped coin”), Icelandic mörk (“a weight, usu. a pound, of silver or gold”). Doublet of markka.
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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:
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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:
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Historical Other similar currencies notionally equal to a mark of silver or gold.
Etymology 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.
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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: