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单词 mark
释义

markn.1

Brit. /mɑːk/, U.S. /mɑrk/
Forms: Old English mærc (Anglian), Old English mearc, Old English meark, Old English (Anglian)–Middle English merc, early Middle English mærk, early Middle English mearke, early Middle English merrke ( Ormulum), Middle English marc, Middle English marce, Middle English merck, Middle English merek, Middle English merke, Middle English–1500s marcke, Middle English–1500s merk, Middle English–1600s marck, Middle English–1600s marke, Middle English–1600s marque, Middle English– mark; Scottish pre-1700 marck, pre-1700 marke, pre-1700 merk, pre-1700 1700s– mark.
Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly formed within English, by compounding. Partly a borrowing from early Scandinavian. Etymon: English mearc.
Etymology: A merging of at least three distinct but related Germanic base forms, whose reflexes remained distinct in Old English, but had fallen together by late Middle English: principally (i) Old English mearc (strong feminine) < a Germanic feminine ō -stem which is the base also of Old Frisian merke mark, character, border, Middle Dutch marke limit, boundary, borderland (compare margrave n.; Dutch mark undivided land (chiefly in border areas) held in common ownership), Old Saxon marka mark, boundary, Old High German marca , marcha border, end, country (Middle High German marke , mark (see sense 3), German Mark border country, especially in the names of certain territories: see sense 2), Old Icelandic mǫrk forest (often a boundary between peoples: compare Old Saxon holtmarka boundary forest), -mǫrk land (only in compounds; compare Denmark n., Swedish mark , Danish mark field, ground, Norwegian mark in the same senses), Gothic marka boundary, landmark, and the first element in the Germanic ethnonym preserved as classical Latin Marcomannī (see Marcomanni n.); also partly (ii) Old English mearc (strong neuter) < a Germanic neuter a -stem (found in Old English in the sense ‘sign’; and sometimes with ge- prefix as gemearc boundary, limit) which is the base also of Middle Dutch marc , merc (Dutch merk ), Middle Low German mark , Middle High German marc , march all in sense ‘sign’ (German Marke sign, brand, which is feminine, is probably influenced by French marque ), Old Icelandic mark , Old Swedish mark landmark, mark of ownership, sign (Swedish regional mark distinctive feature); and partly (iii) a loan from early Scandinavian (compare Old Icelandic merki , Swedish märke , Danish mærke all in sense ‘landmark, boundary, sign’; also as a loan in several other languages, compare Early Irish mergge , Old French merc , Estonian märk , Finnish merkki ) < a Germanic neuter ja -stem cognate with Old Saxon gimerki sign (only in the compound wordgimerki character), Old High German gimerchi boundary (Middle High German gemerke sign). The borrowing into English was probably reinforced in northern regional usage by the presence of the cognate Old English (Northumbrian) gemerce sign, token (compare Old English (West Saxon) gemierce ), with loss of prefix (see y- prefix) and northern absence of palatalization of /k/ to /tʃ/. After the operation of the late Middle English sound change ĕr > ăr Middle English forms such as merke and marke would have coalesced in sound. There is occasional attestation of related weak (n -stem) forms in Old English: mearca (masculine) sign, and mearce (feminine) boundary, limit; also Old English (Northumbrian) merca , merce token, sign: compare Old Icelandic -marki (masculine; only in compounds, as andmarki (Icelandic annmarki ) fault, flaw, blemish). Any surviving reflexes of these forms had fallen together with Middle English marke in inflection by the end of the 13th cent. Derivatives of the Germanic base forms gave rise to post-classical Latin marca (a600), marcha , marchia (8th cent.), Italian marca (a1278; especially in the names of certain territories: see sense 2), Old Occitan (Gascon) merca (c1380), Old Occitan merca (1406), marca (15th cent.), Spanish marca (1495; compare commark n.), as well as several French forms: Old French marche border, border territory (feminine: see march n.3; also marke (early 13th cent.), Middle French, French †marque ), Old French merc (masculine) boundary marker, boundary, distinctive sign (1119 in a Norman source, also marc (c1320)), Middle French, French †merque (feminine) distinctive sign, and Middle French, French marque (feminine) distinctive sign, etc. (1456: see marque n.2, and compare marque n.1). Some Middle English and later senses, especially ‘target’, may have been borrowed < French or Anglo-Norman (however, ‘target’ is also recorded as a sense of Old Icelandic mark; compare also cognate Old English miercels mark, target).The Germanic words have probable cognates in several Indo-European language groups, represented by: classical Latin margō margin n.; Gaulish brog- , brogi territory, country, frontier (compare Cymric adj., the ethnonym Allobroges ( > Allobrogical adj.), personal names (e.g. Brogimaros), and French breuil), Welsh bro district, country, and Early Irish mruig, bruig land; an Illyrian ethnonym Mórgēntes and toponym Morgántion; Avestan marəza- border and Persian marz boundary, region, field with a raised border, land; and, among the Nuristani languages, Kati bŕunċ, Waigali brüz, and Prasuni munz meadow. Although it is difficult to reconstruct a single proto-Indo-European noun as the ancestor for all these forms, the most likely original meaning may be inferred to have been ‘boundary’; the semantic development to ‘sign, trace’ appears to be later and confined to the Germanic branch. Development from the sense ‘boundary’ has been chosen as an organizational principle below, since the earliest sense to be used in English cannot be identified with certainty.
I. A boundary; an area of land, etc., within a boundary.
†1.
a. A boundary, frontier, or limit. Also: land within or near certain boundaries (cf. march n.3). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > boundary > [noun] > land-boundary
thresholdeOE
randeOE
markeOE
mereOE
limiting1391
march1402
confrontc1430
bourne1523
limity1523
mereing1565
mark-mere1582
ring1598
land-mere1603
limit1655
field boundary1812
landimere1825
section-line1827
wad1869
eOE Metres of Boethius (partly from transcript of damaged MS) xi. 65 Hæfð se ilca god eorðan and wætere mearce gesette.
eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) xxvii. 64 Hit wæs gio giond ealle Ro[mana m]earce þæt [etc.].
OE Widsith 42 Ane sweorde merce gemærde wið Myrgingum bi Fifeldore.
lOE Bounds (Sawyer 242) in W. de G. Birch Cartularium Saxonicum (1885) I. 148 Swa be mearce to grenmenes stigele..þonon suð andlang mearce to þes gores suð ende.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3490 He ledde hem to ðe muntes fot; Non [perh. read no one] but non forðere ne mot And on is broðer aaron; God bad hem ðat merke ouer-gon.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 45 (MED) Þe weyes were not so sette wiþ certeyn markes [L. certis limitibus distinctæ]; þe weies were vncerteyn.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 103 Þe merkes and þe meres þerof [sc. Mercia] were in þe west side þe ryuer Dee..; in þe est þe est see, [etc.].
?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 96 In..libye is the see more high þan the lond..ȝit it passeþ not his markes.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 333 Meer, marke be-twene ij londys, meta, meris.
1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) 1227 In a wode of the Markeys of that cuntre, Two hermytys dwellyd.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. cix. f. xlviiiv The meris, or markis of this kyngdome of North humberlande were [etc.].
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 243/1 Marke bytwene two places, limite.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Prov. viii. C He shutt the see within certayne bowndes, that ye waters shulde not go ouer their marckes.
c1600 (c1350) Alisaunder (Greaves) (1929) 173 The marques of Malasor menskliche hee aught.
?1832 ‘B. Cornwall’ Sea i The Sea! the Sea! the open Sea!.. Without a mark, without a bound.
1883 Chambers's Jrnl. 36 When the Marquis of Leominster was a Marquis indeed, with a mark to guard.
1892 W. E. Henley London Voluntaries in Song of Sword iii. 22 The afflicted city, prone from mark to mark In shameful occultation.
b. figurative. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > boundary > [noun] > specifically of something immaterial
markOE
marcha1387
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > quality of being restricted or limited > [noun] > limit
markOE
measurea1375
bound1393
sizec1420
banka1425
limita1425
limitationa1475
stint1509
within one's tether?1523
confine1548
tropic?1594
scantling1597
gauge1600
mound1605
boundalsa1670
meta1838
parameter1967
OE Genesis A (1931) 1719 Þa þæs mæles wæs mearc agongen þæt him Abraham idese brohte, wif to hame.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 169 Inþe fondunge he haueð iset þe feont an marke [a1250 Nero merke].
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 223 Liȝtliche..huanne þe lost ne paseþ naȝt þe markes ne þe zetnesses of spoushod.
R. Misyn tr. R. Rolle Fire of Love 38 Þou art þe end of heuynes, þe mark of labirs.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 50 (MED) These craftis kepten not to hem silf her propre..boundis and markis.
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) (1974) 85 (MED) The othir lawe accomplisshith and fulfillith and maketh an ende and settith his [sc. God's] merkis.
c. The apparent path of a planet or star in the sky. Also: a point or position of the sun on the ecliptic. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. 3432 (MED) Appollo of his daies arke Had in the west almost ronne his marke.
a1500 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Trin. Dublin) 684 (MED) May ȝe oght in any maner me to þat merke [c1450 Ashm. sterne] shewe?
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 7696 The Sun in his Sercle set was o loft, At the merke of þe mydday.
2. Any of various (usually specified) German or (occasionally) Italian territories or principalities, esp. that of Brandenburg. Cf. margrave n. Now archaic or historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > territorial jurisdiction or areas subject to > jurisdiction or territory of specific rulers or nobles > [noun] > of prince
principalityc1350
principatea1387
princedom1562
princehood1567
mark1632
1632 W. Watts Swedish Intelligencer: 1st Pt. 61 They going the further way about, through the Marck, and so along beside Schiffelbien,..the Swedish were at Colbergen before them.
1658 Mercurius Politicus No. 431. 790 All the Brandenburgish forces which are enquartered in the Mark have to order, to draw into a body, and to be in the field within four daies.
1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture I. 65/1 The Town of Cingoli..in the Mark of Ancona.
1797 Encycl. Brit. III. 514/2 They reckon in the whole Mark [of Brandenburg] 120 towns [etc.].
1884 Harper's Mag. Apr. 690/2 The two Frederics..were to have the Mark.
1910 Encycl. Brit. IV. 420/1 When Gero died in 965, his mark was divided into two parts, the northern portion, lying along both banks of the middle Elbe, being called the north or old mark, and forming the nucleus of the later margraviate of Brandenburg.
1954 J. R. R. Tolkien Two Towers iii. vi. 111 There dwells Théoden son of Thengel, King of the Mark of Rohan.
1992 Jrnl. Mod. Hist. 64 271 During the reform period a violent conflict of interest developed between the reform-oriented bureaucracy and a group of Junkers from the Mark Brandenburg.
3. Germanic History. A tract of land held in common by an early Germanic village community; a (supposed) administrative unit or corporate body in early Germanic society. [Kemble's supposition (see quots. 18491) that the Mark was the name of a unit of territorial organization next below the Shire is based on an erroneous interpretation of Old English mearc after the spec. ‘a tract of land held in common’ shown by Middle High German marke, mark (following J. Grimm Deutsche Rechts Alterthümer (1828) 496-532).]
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > tract > [noun] > common or unenclosed
common1377
moor1386
common land1470
champestrea1492
common field1523
champaign1555
commons1583
champian1611
commonity1612
public domain1627
commonage1635
commoninga1661
range1707–8
open1733
common area1837
mark1849
veld1852
outdoors1859
wide (also great, vast) open spaces1910
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > [noun] > common or unenclosed land
lea805
leasea1000
green1190
common1377
tye1407
common field1523
champaign1555
commons1583
champian1611
commonage1635
commoninga1661
open1733
open field1762
mark1849
veld1852
scat-field1881
stray1889
1849 J. M. Kemble Saxons in Eng. I. ii. 36 Among the Anglosaxons land so held in common was designated by the names Mark, and Gâ or Shire. The smallest and simplest of these common divisions is that which we technically call a Mark.
1849 J. M. Kemble Saxons in Eng. I. ii. 53 The Mark is a community of families or households, settled on such plots of land and forest as have been described. This is the original basis upon which all Teutonic society rests.
1849 J. M. Kemble Saxons in Eng. I. iii. 76 As then the word Mark is used to denote two distinct things,—a territorial division and a corporate body,—so does the word Gá or Scír denote both [etc.].
1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. iii. 89 Such a community occupies its own territory, its Mark.
1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. iii. 100 The unit is the Mark, roughly represented by the modern parish or manor.
1874 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. I. ii. 34 We have not the mark system.
1887 Edinb. Rev. Jan. 10 In all Teutonic countries the same conflict was waged between the manor and the mark.
1918 C. B. Fawcett Frontiers 26 The width of the mark was in part an indication of the strength of the tribe.
II. An object marking a boundary, terminal point, or other geographical location.
†4. A stone or other monument set up as a memorial. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > memorial or monument > [noun] > structure or erection
markOE
monumentc1400
funerala1547
monumentala1687
remain1687
marker1906
OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Exod. (Claud.) xxiv. 4 Moyses..getimbrode an weofod æt þam munte nyðeweardon & twelf mearca on twelf Israhela mægðum.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1887 Iacob dalf hire and merke dede, Ðat is get sene on ðat stede.
c1450 (c1350) Alexander & Dindimus (Bodl.) (1929) 1139 (MED) Alle meven his men fro þe marke evene.
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus Cippus, a littell hill or marke called a barrow.
1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias i. ix. 9 b A certaine marke or Piller, with the King of Portingales Armes, and a Crosse.
†5. A standard or banner. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military organization > insignia > [noun] > flag, banner, or standard
senyec900
beaconOE
markOE
banner?c1225
here-markec1275
ensignc1400
standard?a1439
standard1497
armory1523
flag1530
handsenyie1545
ancient1554
labarum1563
antsign1571
ensign-staff1707
brattach1828
society > communication > indication > insignia > standard > [noun]
markOE
standard?a1160
signc1300
OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 71 Victricia tollite signa, nymað þa sigefæstan mearca.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 9416 Beornes scullen rusien reosen heore mærken [c1300 Otho marke].
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 9530 Cador þe kene scal beren þas kinges marke.
†6. In quot. lOE: a post, etc., indicating the point to which a hot iron had to be carried in a trial by ordeal. In later use: a post or other object indicating the terminal point of a race. Frequently figurative: an object desired or striven for, a goal, an objective, a standard for attainment (cf. sense 24). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > [noun] > starting or finishing mark > finishing mark
marklOE
glovec1380
goal1531
winning-post1759
ending-post1760
goalpost1834
tape1867
the line1892
finishing-post1895
finish line1899
lOE Laws: Ordal (Rochester) i. §1. 386 Beo þær gemeten nygon fet of þam stacan to þære mearce.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 271 (MED) He set so ille his merk, þat neuer eft he ne sped.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Phil. iii. 14 I forget that which is behynde..& preace vnto ye marck apoynted.
1555 H. Latimer Let. 15 May in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) III. App. 101 He that runnythe at the Merk, doth not loke on other that stands by..but lokyth altogether on the Glove or Merk, and on them that ronne with him.
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. ii. viii. f. 61 Lette this bee our perpetuall marke, to ayde all men faithfully.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman Ep. Ded. sig. A3 I know your Honour hath long made this your marke.
1789 W. Cowper Let. 1 Aug. (1982) III. 306 The end is in view; I seem almost to have reached the mark.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam lii. 75 For fear divine philosophy Should push beyond her mark, and be Procuress to the Lords of Hell. View more context for this quotation
1878 H. James Watch & Ward ix. 184 Fenton..was one who, when it suited him, could ride rough-shod to his mark.
†7. A pillar, post, stone, fence, etc., placed to indicate the position of a boundary. Cf. landmark n. 1. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surface > [noun] > mark diversifying a surface
marka1325
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > boundary > [noun] > land-boundary > boundary mark
markingOE
boundc1275
marka1325
merea1387
meithc1430
limit1439
doolc1440
prop1450
march1495
landmark1535
mere boundc1600
mere-mark1611
border-mark1613
bound-mark1623
bounder-mark1666
boundary-mark1878
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 440 Met of corn and wigte of fe And merke of felde first fond he [sc. Cain].
c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 2710 Her fader..Ȝaf hem londes wide..Markes were set bi side.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 77 Saynt Cutberte's clerkes..At Geruans set þer merkes; a hous þe gan vpspede.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Deut. xxvii. 17 Cursed be he, yt remoueth his neghbours mark.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 55 No Fences parted Fields, nor Marks nor Bounds Distinguish'd Acres of litigious Grounds. View more context for this quotation
1732 S.-Carolina Gaz. 18 Mar. 4/1 Whereas several Pettyawgers have received great Damage for want of a proper Mark at the White Point.
8.
a. An object which serves as an indication of direction or position; a landmark or seamark. Frequently figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > guidance in travel > [noun] > that which guides or leads > landmark
marka1398
landmark1570
waymark1611
clue1840
waymarker1867
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > buoys, marks, or lighthouses > [noun] > object on land or sea as guide
marka1398
sea-mark1566
landmark1570
daymark1695
leading-mark1804
tide-mark1861
shoal-mark1875
range mark1886
range marker1934
cardinal mark1974
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 246v Therfore beþ ofte knottes y-made on trees and..bowes in tokne and marke of þe hihe weye to schewe þe certeyn..weye to wey-farynge men.
c1425 Edward, Duke of York Master of Game (Vesp. B.xii) (1904) 86 (MED) He must..drawe hym to some place where he may best see hym [sc. the hart], and þere breke a bowe for to make a marke.
?c1475 in J. Gairdner Sailing Direct. (1889) 12 Ye must go south west fro the Nasse to the merkis of the spetis... Bring your markis to gidre that the parissh steple be owte by est the abbey of Seint Hosies.
?1530 tr. J. Colet Serm. Conuocacion Paulis sig. Bvv Vnto you we loke as vnto markes of our direction.
1577 R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande iii. f. 14/2, in R. Holinshed Chron. I Hulck tower, which is a notable marck for Pilottes, in directing them, which way to sterne their ships [etc.].
a1591 H. Smith Serm. (1594) 237 Being now recoured to his right way, [he] stands like a marke of knowledge in the turninges..to direct those that passe by.
1598 J. Manwood Treat. Lawes Forrest i. f. 4 They seeme to vnderstand this word Meta, a marke, for any thing that hath an ascending from the ground vpward in height, that they call a marke, as, a hill, a Church, a Tree, or such like.
1650 T. Hobbes Humane Nature v. §1. 44 Men that have past by a Rock at Sea, set up some mark, thereby to remember their former danger, and avoid it.
a1676 M. Hale Narr. Customes iii, in S. A. Moore Foreshore (1888) 338 As fixing of piles, or layinge in of anchors without buoyes or markes.
1708 W. Penn in Mem. Hist. Soc. Pennsylvania (1872) X. 290 I have shewn my regard to him, and a fair mark I gave him to direct his steps.
1781 J. O. Justamond tr. B.-F.-J. Mouffle d'Angerville Private Life Lewis XV II. 120 (note) This is a mark, sometimes made by a floating tun, sometimes by a mast raised upon a bank.
1834 Nat. Philos. (Libr. Useful Knowl.) III. Navigation i. iii. 9 The marks themselves are called the leading marks.
1872 J. S. Blackie Lays of Highlands 75 The height which bears The sailor's radiant mark.
1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island vi. xxxi. 261 A tall tree was thus the principal mark.
1940 W. V. T. Clark Ox-bow Incident iii. 189 There were marks you couldn't miss, he said, and mentioned trees and boulders, and the shape of the road, and Tetley was satisfied.
1979 A. M. Tizzard On Sloping Ground 329 We were up quite early and steamed down the main tickle so that we were on Scrub by the time it was light enough to see the marks.
b. A fishing ground located by means of known alignments with or distances from particular landmarks or seamarks.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > [noun] > fishing-ground
fishinga1599
piscarya1625
fishing-ground1641
fishery1699
fish-range1699
mark1965
1921 F. D. Holcombe Mod. Sea Angling 7 The good sea fisherman should be able..to do everything for himself;..manage his own boat, put her on to the marks.]
1965 E. J. F. Wood in A. Wrangler Newnes Compl. Guide Sea Angling 81/2 Most angling clubs have a log or chart displayed in the club room. These show the recognised local fishing marks, and almost invariably these marks are pinpointed by lining up a series of various conspicuous objects.
1971 Country Life 18 Feb. 347/3 I mentioned the changes reported by some of the fishermen along the coast, the poverty of some of the hitherto good fishing marks, the absence of fish in places in which they had once been plentiful.
1976 Eastern Daily Press (Norwich) 19 Nov. 21/5 Stronger tides this week-end should improve prospects for cod, especially if the weather permits boats to fish the deeper marks well offshore.
1990 Angler's Mail 28 July 17/2 When you're casting over rocky, weedy marks.
III. An omen, indicator, or characteristic.
9.
a. An indicator, symptom, or omen (of something); a quality, occurrence, etc., indicative of something.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > [noun] > an indication or sign
tokeningc888
fingereOE
senyeOE
markOE
showing?c1225
blossomc1230
signa1325
signifyingc1384
evidencea1393
notea1398
forbysena1400
kenninga1400
knowinga1400
showerc1400
unningc1400
signala1413
signification?a1425
demonstrancec1425
cenyc1440
likelinessc1450
ensign1474
signifure?a1475
outshowinga1500
significativea1500
witter1513
precedent1518
intimation1531
signifier1532
meith1533
monument1536
indicion?1541
likelihood1541
significator1554
manifest1561
show1561
evidency1570
token-teller1574
betokener1587
calendar1590
instance1590
testificate1590
significant1598
crisis1606
index1607
impression1613
denotementa1616
story1620
remark1624
indicium1625
denotation1633
indice1636
signum1643
indiction1653
trace1656
demonstrator1657
indication1660
notationa1661
significatory1660
indicator1666
betrayer1678
demonstration1684
smell1691
wittering1781
notaa1790
blazonry1850
sign vehicle1909
marker1919
rumble1927
society > communication > indication > marking > marking to identify > mark of identification > [noun] > mark assumed by or imposed on person
markOE
nota1701
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Mark xvi. 17 Signa autem eos qui crediderint haec sequentur : gemerca ðonne ða ðaðe gelefdon uel gelefað ða gefylgeð.]
OE Seven Sleepers (Julius) (1994) 46 Him næs nan deaðes mearc on gesewen.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 17982 He setteþþ merrke off þatt he wiss. Iss godd soþfasst i spæche.
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 127 Lokið nu ȝeorne..hwuch a mearke he leide up on his icorene þe he steah to heouene.
c1390 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale 893 Holy ordre is chief of al the tresor of god and his especial signe and mark of chastitee.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 18330 (MED) Lauerd..þou has sett þi merck in heuen O þi blis.
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing ii. iii. 233 Shees a faire lady, I doe spie some markes of loue in her. View more context for this quotation
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies iii. xiii. 160 They found peeces of blew cloth, and other markes and signes that some men of Europe had passed there.
1669 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. I i. Introd. 6 Is it not a great Marque of Honor.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 73. ¶10 She bestows a Mark of her Favour upon every one of them.
1725 I. Watts Logick ii. v. §4 In some Reports there are more Marks of Falshood than of Truth, and in others there are more Marks of Truth than of Falsehood.
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. vi. 192 Our people soon observed several lights..in the fort, and other marks of the inhabitants being in great motion.
1789 J. Beekman Let. 28 Sept. in Beekman Mercantile Papers (1956) III. 1097 We were desirous to show Mr. Dubey every Mark of Lenity in our Power.
1843 G. Borrow Bible in Spain III. xx. 376 His body..exhibited every mark of strength and vigour.
a1862 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. (1873) III. v. 463 How unusual it is to meet with any one..whose writings bear marks of..original thought.
1884 W. W. Skeat Gamelyn Introd. 11 The ‘master outlaw’ in the tale of Gamelyn is left unnamed. This is a mark of a somewhat early date.
1934 R. Graves I, Claudius xi. 158 This was an unusual manner of fighting, for the ordinary German soldier does all his work with the slim-shafted, narrow-headed assegai: the broad-headed halberd and the long sword are marks of high rank.
1964 in Dict. Newfoundland Eng. (1982) 323/2 Soon as we see the first..little bird come yer in the spring (you would see 'em round the rocks), that'd be our mark. Time to get away now!
1989 G. Mehta Raj xi. 72 As a special mark of favour, the Maharani received the tutor's family on the balcony outside her private chambers.
b. A characteristic property; a criterion; a distinctive or distinguishing feature or characteristic (of something). Frequently in (all) the marks of.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > that which identifies or distinguishes > [noun]
tokenc1000
distinctionc1374
differencea1398
signeta1425
knowledge?c1475
smell?a1505
markc1522
badge1529
note1583
impress1590
monument1590
type1595
stamp1600
pressure1604
mintage1612
criterion1613
impressa1628
differencer1633
lineament1638
mole1644
discrimination1646
tessera1647
diagnostic1651
monumental1657
discretive1660
signate1662
footmark1666
trait1752
memorandum1766
fingerprint1792
insignia1796
identifier1807
designative1824
cachet1840
differentiator1854
tanga1867
trademark1869
signature1873
totem1875
differential1883
earmarkings1888
paw print1894
discriminator1943
ident1952
the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > [noun] > a characteristic
privilegec1225
distinctionc1374
propertyc1390
tachea1400
pointa1425
specialty?a1425
difference?c1425
conditionc1460
markc1522
touch1528
specialty1532
differentia1551
character?1569
formality1570
particularity1585
peculiar1589
accent1591
appropriation1600
characterism1603
peculiarity1606
resemblance1622
propera1626
speciality1625
specificationa1631
appropriament1633
characteristic1646
discrimination1646
diagnostic1651
characteristical1660
stroke1666
talent1670
physiognomya1680
oddity1713
distinctive1816
spécialité1836
trait1864
flavour1866
middle name1905
discriminant1920
discriminator1943
c1522 T. More Treat. Memorare Nouissima in Wks. (1557) I. 73 He that by good vse and experyence, hathe in his eye the ryghte marke and very trewe lustre of the Dyamonte.
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. i. xv. f. 53 Neither is their opinion to be approued, which sett the Image of God in the power of dominion geuen vnto him, as if he resembled God onely in this mark, that he is [etc.].
1612 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 100 Therefore let Princes..chuse such seruants, as haue not this marke.
a1625 J. Fletcher Noble Gentleman iv. iv, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ff/1 Yet from this pitch can I behold my owne, From millions of those men that have no marke.
1669 Hist. Sir Eger 21 If I chance to..get his helm or yet his shield, Or any mark of him to see, The Lady will think it be ye.
1767 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. (new ed.) II. v. 63 This tenure of knight-service had all the marks of a strict and regular feud.
1854 R. W. Emerson Lett. & Social Aims in Wks. (1906) III. 139 The restraining grace of common-sense is the mark of all the valid minds.
1885 R. L. Stevenson & F. Stevenson Dynamiter 194 I recognise in you the marks of an accomplished anarch.
1912 H. Belloc This & That 20 The town was not a lazy, dirty town with all the marks of antiquity and none of energy.
1934 R. Lynd Both Sides of Road v. 32 There is this to be said for a revival of the custom of wearing top hats, that it is at least the mark of a peace-loving nation.
1952 R. A. Knox Hidden Stream xiii. 124 One, holy, Catholic, and Apostolic; those have always been the marks of the true Church.
1988 A. Desai Baumgartner's Bombay ii. 26 That, too, was one of her distinctive marks—that she did not wear a coat.
†c. Logic. An attribute. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical proposition > [noun] > attribute
inseparable quality1551
mark1690
attribute1785
internal relation1883
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding i. iii. 22 My Lord Herbert had..given the marks of the innate Principles or common Notions.
1819 J. Richardson tr. I. Kant Logic Introd. 87 That sort of distinctness, which arises, not by the analysis, but by the synthesis of the marks, is synthetic distinctness.
1860 W. Thomson Outl. Laws of Thought (ed. 5) §51. 78 Those properties by which we recognise any object, and assign it a place under some appropriate conception, are called marks.
1870 F. C. Bowen Logic i. 8 The Concept is the Intuition stripped of its contingent or unessential attributes or marks.
1884 tr. H. Lotze Logic i. iii. 89 Life without intelligence is a possible mark of an animal, but not intelligence without life.
†10. A vestige, a trace. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > marking > a mark > trace or vestige > [noun]
signa1382
stepa1382
ficchingc1384
marka1400
tracesc1400
scentc1422
footstep?a1425
tidinga1440
relicc1475
smell?a1505
stead1513
vestigy1545
print1548
token1555
remnant1560
show1561
mention1564
signification1576
footing?1580
tract1583
remainder1585
vestige1602
wrack1602
engravement1604
footstepping1610
resent1610
ghost1613
impression1613
remark1624
footprint1625
studdle1635
vestigium1644
relict1646
perception1650
vestigiary1651
track1657
symptom1722
signacle1768
ray1773
vestigia1789
footmark1800
souvenir1844
latent1920
a1400 (c1300) Northern Homily: Serm. Christmas Day Eve & Morn (Coll. Phys.) in Middle Eng. Dict. at Mark(e Of thair not yet standes merk, In babilony the tour yet standes.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie iv. xxv. 141 In whiche place are the markes of the ruines of Lacedemonia.
1662 G. Torriano New Fabrick Ital. Dialogues 7 in Piazza Universale (1666) It looks as if it had been some building before, but ruin'd there are yet the marks [It. vestiggii].
11. (God) bless (also save) the mark and variants: an exclamatory phrase, probably originally serving as a formula to avert an evil omen, and hence used by way of apology when something horrible, indecent, or profane has been mentioned. Now used chiefly in writing to apologize (frequently ironically) for a preceding or following word or phrase. [The phrase was apparently formerly used by midwives at the birth of a child bearing a birthmark (see W. A. Henderson in Notes & Queries (1895) 8th Ser. 7 373); and this may possibly be the original use (compare quot. a1625). However, the meaning of mark in the expression may originally have been ‘sign’ or ‘omen’ (compare sense 9a). There is no foundation in the statement of E. C. Brewer Dict. Phr. & Fable (1870) 790/2, copied in some dictionaries, that the phrase was originally used by archers.]
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > exclamations of contempt [interjection]
prut?c1300
trutc1330
truptc1380
ahaa1400
tushc1440
puff1481
quotha?1520
ah?1526
ta ha1528
twish1577
blurt1592
gip1592
pish1592
tantia1593
(God) bless (also save) the mark1593
phah1593
marry come up1597
mew1600
pooh1600
marry muff1602
pew waw1602
ptish1602
pew1604
push1605
pshaw1607
tuh1607
pea1608
poh1650
pooh pooh1694
hoity-toity1695
highty-tighty1699
quoz?1780
indeed1834
shuck1847
skidoo1906
suck1913
zut1915
yah boo1921
pooey1927
ptui1930
snubs1934
upya1941
yah boo sucks1980
1593 T. Churchyard Challenge 240 Browne and blacke I was God blesse the marke: Who cals me faire dooth scarce know Cheese from chalke.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 i. iii. 55 To see him..talke so like a waiting gentlewoman, Of guns, and drums, and wounds, God saue the mark. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) iv. iv. 19 Hee had not bin there (blesse the marke) a pissing while, but all the chamber smelt him. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) i. i. 32 He in good time, must his Leiutenant be, And I, God blesse the marke, his Worships Ancient.
a1625 J. Fletcher Noble Gentleman iv. iv, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ff/2 Indeed he was Just such another coxcomb as your husband, God blesse the mark and every good mans childe!
1761 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy III. xxxiii. 151 My father..had no more nose, my dear, saving the mark, than there is upon the back of my hand.
1820 W. Irving Legend Sleepy Hollow in Sketch Bk. vi. 93 The motherly tea-pot sending up its clouds of vapour from the midst—Heaven bless the mark!
1824 T. Carlyle Let. 4 Dec. in Coll. Lett. T. & J. W. Carlyle (1970) III. 214 The best of my talents (bless the mark!) shut up even from my own view.
1833 Dublin Penny Jrnl. 2 23/2 ‘An' they say’, remarked a third, ‘that if a body swears in the wrong wid that [sc. the garvarry] about his neck, his face'll be turned to the back of his head, God bless the mark!’
1849 G. P. R. James Woodman I. ii. 32 God save the mark that I should give the name of king to one of his kindred.
1902 W. James Varieties Relig. Experience 204 (note) The crisis of apathetic melancholy..from which he emerged by the reading of Marmontel's Memoirs (Heaven save the mark!) and Wordsworth's poetry.
1917 W. J. Locke Red Planet x. 113 All their talk was of Hauptmann and Sudermann..and in art—Heaven save the mark—the Cubist school.
1969 H. K. Fleming Day they kidnapped Queen Victoria i. 11 He had been selected for the delicate post of ‘governor’ to the royal children—the male version of governess, God save the mark.
1977 Evening Telegram (St. John's, Newfoundland) 3 Dec. 46 ‘Well gentlemen,’ sez I, ‘God bless the mark, but this is really a chilly day.’
1994 Amer. Scholar Winter 135/1 Today, anyone who reads a daily newspaper or, God save the mark, even watches television news in a state at least bordering on consciousness is inured to..present-day observations.
IV. A badge, device, notation, etc., intended to denote some meaning or status.
12.
a. A sign, badge, brand, etc., assumed by or imposed on a person. In plural: †insignia (obsolete).God's marks: see god n. and int. Compounds 2c.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > insignia > [noun]
marka1425
sign1591
insignia1648
red ribbon1652
OE Homily: De Temporibus Anticristi (Corpus Cambr. 419) in A. S. Napier Wulfstan (1883) 200 Antecrist..forbyt ælcum men aðor to bycganne oððe to syllanne, butan he on his foranheafde habbe his mearce.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1003 Quuo ne bar ðanne is merk [sc. circumcision] him on Fro godes folc sulde he be don.
a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 4402 Bot with þas þat had Criste forsaken And the merk of anticrist had taken [etc.].
c1475 (c1399) Mum & Sothsegger (Cambr. Ll.4.14) (1936) ii. 78 (MED) No manere meyntenour shulde merkis bere..þe lawe to apeire.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cxviijv Neyther maye any others, than suche as haue the greate beastes charact, or Balles marke, be permitted to occupie that trade of marchaundyse.
1592 Newes from Scotl., Life & Death Dr. Fian B They suspecting that she had beene marked by the Diuell (as commonly witches are)..found the enemies marke to be in her fore crag.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies v. viii. 350 The priest..was decked with the markes of the idoll.
1680 True Protestant Intelligence No. 3. 1/2 One of them, as it is said, had the Thieves mark in her hand.
1706 tr. L. E. Du Pin New Eccl. Hist. 16th Cent. II. v. 4 He [sc. Catharinus] believes the Marks of St. Francis.
1727–51 E. Chambers Cycl. at Herald Their persons are under the protection of the law of nations, when they bear the marks of their offices publicly, i.e. the trumpeter his trumpet, and the drummer his drum; as the herald his coat.
1757 J. Woolman Jrnl. May (1971) iv. 62 The Negroes were understood to be the offspring of Cain, their blackness being the mark which God set upon him.
1852 N. Hawthorne Blithedale Romance xviii. 187 Every human being, when given over to the devil, is sure to have the wizard mark upon him.
1881 J. Sands Sketches Tranent 39 It was believed that Satan put a mark upon all who had enlisted into his service.
1927 J. Buchan Witch Wood xvi The pricker fand the De'il's mark on her back, and stappit a preen intil it up to the head and nae bluid came.
1994 30 Days in Church & in World No. 4. 52/2 Even after the derision of death every day by those who bear the mark of Christ.
†b. The tonsure of a priest or monk. Chiefly with defining word or phrase, as Christ's mark, God's mark, mark of clergy, etc. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > cleanness (ceremonial) > tonsure > [noun] > instance of
Christ's marka1225
crownc1275
crowningc1400
tonsure1430
corona1882
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 57 Sume oðre nimeð godes marc, wandeþ here claðes and naht here þewes.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 14899 Clærckes and preostes mid Godes mærkes.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 27251 Quar he..clething beres þat feris to clerc, Or cron þat es o clergi merc.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 29283 (MED) Qua smites preist or clerk Or ani berand cristes merk, Als munk or frer, nun or chanun..he is cursd.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 130 I þe forbede to chalange any clerke In lay courte for non nede, of holy kirke has merke.
c. mark of the beast n. a sign placed on followers or worshippers of the Antichrist (see Revelation 16:2); (in extended use) an indicator or symptom of heresy; (figurative) a sign of infamy. Cf. M.B. n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > deity > a devil > the Devil or Satan > [noun] > the Antichrist > sign of
mark of the beastc1384
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Royal) Apoc. xvi. 2 A wounde feers and worst is maad in to alle that hadden the carecte or marke [L. characteram] of the beest.
1611 Bible (King James) Rev. xix. 20 And the beast was taken, & with him the false prophet, that wrought miracles before him. with which he deceiued them that had receiued the marke of the beast . View more context for this quotation
1645 E. Pagitt Heresiogr. Ep. Ded. sig. πA2 The illuminated Anabaptists who blasphemously affirme the baptisme of children to be the marke of the Beast.
1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women I. iv. 149 Those writings..carry on their very forehead the mark of the beast.
1847 J. Bates Seventh Day Sabbath (ed. 2) 59 Is it not clear that the first day of the week for the Sabbath or holy day is a mark of the beast.
1874 W. E. Gladstone in Contemp. Rev. Oct. 672 [The undivided clerical waistcoat] was deemed so distinctly Popish, that it acquired the nickname of ‘The Mark of the Beast’; and..among the tailors..was familiarly known as ‘the M.B. waistcoat’.
1956 N. Algren Walk on Wild Side i. 38 All who worship Jehovah will have to receive the mark of the beast or die!
1992 B. Sterling Hacker Crackdown 182 This computer fever has been running through segments of our society for years now... The mark of the hacker beast.
d. mark of Cain n. the sign placed on Cain after the murder of Abel (see Genesis 4:15); (figurative) a sign of infamy.In Genesis, the mark placed on Cain denotes divine protection; this aspect is not generally reflected in figurative and allusive uses of the phrase. The mark is generally supposed to have been placed on Cain's forehead, though Genesis does not specify this.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > infamy or notoriety > [noun] > branding with infamy > a brand of infamy
note1531
brand1597
foil1599
stripe1607
stigmaa1620
stigmea1620
mark of Cain1795
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Gen. iv. C And the Lorde put a marck vpon Cain.]
1795 R. Cumberland Wheel of Fortune ii. 31 I have the mark of Cain, the stamp of cruelty imprinted on my forehead.
1832 W. E. Aytoun Poland, Homer, & Other Poems 18 Within whose parch'd and fear-distemper'd brain, A nameless brand is stamp'd—the mark of Cain!
1878 T. Hardy Return of Native I. i. ix. 173 Reddle..stamps unmistakably, as with the mark of Cain, any person who has handled it half-an-hour.
1925 Blackwood's Mag. Dec. 786/1 He saw himself objectly as a felon with the mark of Cain.
1987 ‘E. Anthony’ No Enemy but Time 107 Tweedy, lipsticked matrons, with ‘sporting type’ branded on their foreheads like the mark of Cain.
1995 Guardian 3 Mar. (Friday section) 6/1 The Artist wears brown sunglasses. Underneath them is his personal Mark of Cain, the word Slave scrawled, rather tastefully, in black across one cheek.
†e. In certain schools: a badge worn by the pupil who had last committed some particular misdemeanour. to pass the mark: to get rid of such a badge by transferring it to another pupil on detecting him or her committing the same misdemeanour (also figurative). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > school administration > [verb (intransitive)] > punishment
to pass the mark1832
society > authority > punishment > other types of punishment > [noun] > school punishment > badge worn as
mark1832
1832 M. R. Mitford Our Village V. 198 French was the universal language of the house, and an English mark was passed among the young ladies, transferred from culprit to culprit as they were detected in the fact, and called for three times a day, when the unlucky damsel who happened to be in possession of the badge was amerced in the sum of three~pence.
1849 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis (1850) I. xxxii. 316 Bacon liked to be treated with rudeness by a gentleman, and used to pass it on to his inferiors as boys pass the mark.
c1855 E. C. Gaskell Traits & Stories Huguenots (ad fin.) I have now told all I know about the Huguenots. I pass the mark to some one else.
13.
a. A written character or symbol (e.g. an asterisk, question mark, etc.) other than a letter, digit, or point in ordinary punctuation. In quot. c1450: a note in written music.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > written character > [noun] > written character not a letter
markOE
noteOE
signa1382
dot1659
characteristical1681
mark of suspension1912
OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) iii. iii. 172 Ic hæbbe gesett ane mearke beforan þam rædingum, and þa ic wylle her amearkian, þæt se rædere hig mage þe raðor gemetan.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 37 What the Hebrewes hadde more þan þe seventy þey marked..wiþ markes [?a1475 tr. R. Higden Polychron. signes; L. signis] þat hatte astarisces.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 2113 Þare saȝe he selcuthis sere..þe muses of musike, & þe merke, how it was made first.
1723 J. Chamberlayne Magnæ Britanniæ Notitia (ed. 26) ii. Gen. List 657 List of..Council-Men..of London... This Mark (*) denotes the New Members.
1862 D. T. Ansted & R. G. Latham Channel Islands ii. ix. 200 A mark of interrogation (?) [will denote] doubtful species.
1877 M. Laffan Hon. Miss Ferrard I. vii. 207 Those marks indicate the syllablising of the word and its pronunciation.
1966 P. Clemoes Early Eng. MSS in Facsimile XIII. 24/1 Four marks are used, namely a simple point placed at about mid-height..a punctus elevatus..a punctus versus..and a punctus interrogativus.
1992 Naše Rodina Summer 67 When we do need diacritical marks, it is necessary to put them in by hand on the final copy.
b. A written character, usually a cross, made in place of a signature by a person unable to write. Frequently with possessive adjective.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > that which identifies or distinguishes > personal identification > signature > [noun] > mark in place of signature
markOE
crossc1400
subscription1409
Christ-crossc1440
OE Rule St. Benet (Tiber.) (1888) lviii. 98 Aut certe si non scit litteras, alter ab eo rogatus scribat; et ille novitius signum faciat : oððe soðes gif he na can stafas, oðer fram him gebeden write & se nicumena mearce do.
1434 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 102 (MED) Y pray yowe loki thys marke and thys Seell, acorde as y Roger wyl answere afore god.
1588 in E. Arber Introd. Sketch Marprelate Controv. (1895) 82 William × Stanghtons marke.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iv. ii. 101 Dost thou vse to write thy name? Or hast thou a marke to thy selfe, like a honest plain dealing man?
1627 in Poems R. Barnfield (1882) Introd. p. xvii Peter Serieantes his × mark.
1766 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. xx. 305 Which custom our illiterate vulgar do..keep up; by signing a cross for their mark when unable to write their names.
1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick xvii. 100 Dost thou sign thy name or make thy mark?
1883 American 6 270 In England, if the grantor cannot sign, he may make his mark.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xii. [Cyclops] 320 After which he visited the chief factory of Cottonopolis and signed his mark in the visitors' book.
1991 D. Craig King Cameron (BNC) 75 I believe we can muster sixteen thousand names... So sign your names, friends, or make a mark if need be.
c. mark of suspension n. Palaeography a written character used to indicate that a word has been contracted (cf. suspension n. 2d).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > written character > [noun] > written character not a letter
markOE
noteOE
signa1382
dot1659
characteristical1681
mark of suspension1912
1912 W. H. Stevenson in Eng. Hist. Rev. 27 12 The copyist..appends his mark of suspension to words that he could not fully read.
1958 L. C. Hector Handwriting Eng. Documents iii. 32 The letter..which in practice most often carried this mark of suspension was the so-called ‘Arabic-2’ small r.
1995 Speculum 70 519 The abbreviation marks comprise the Old English and sign and the marks of suspension of final e, m, æt in þæt, and æþ in cwæþ.
14.
a. A device, stamp, brand, label, inscription, etc., on an article, animal, etc., identifying it or its holder, or indicating ownership, origin, quality, etc.; †the stamp or impress of a coin (obsolete).Frequently with defining word, as ear-, sheep-, woolmark, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > marking > marking to identify > mark of identification > [noun]
marklOE
signc1300
charactc1384
signaclec1384
badge1526
earmark1551
character1597
signature1605
stampa1616
designation1646
signation1646
insignition1660
signate1662
ear tag1876
ken-mark1885
laundry mark1924
pink triangle1950
sigillum1966
lOE Laws: Dunsæte (Corpus Cambr.) i. 374 Gif man trode bedrifð forstolenes yrfes of stæðe on oðer, ðonne befæste man þæt spo[r] landesmannum oððe mid mearce gecyðe, þæt man riht drife.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 457 Of merke and kinde and helde & ble Sundring and sameni[n]g [MS samenig] tagte he.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xv. 343 (MED) Þe merke of þat mone [sc. the lushburg] is good, ac þe metal is fieble.
1420 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 46 A chales cuppe with þe couercle & my merke y-made in þe cnappe.
1423 Rolls of Parl. IV. 257/1 Be it as it is axed, so that every Goldsmyths mark be knowen to the Wardeynes of the craft.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 334 Merke, tokyne, signum, caracter.
c1440 in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) II. 280 Thay salle be brynte on the hippe, chapmans merke.
1524 Act 14 & 15 Hen. VIII c. 3. §9 This present act..for limittyng of markes to the maker of worsteds, saies, and stamins.
1567 T. Harman Caueat for Commen Cursetors (new ed.) sig. Biiii The markes shalbe picked out cleane, & [the clothes] conuayed craftelye fare of to sell.
1594 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. II. 543 Hee will appoynt to haue a stone layde vpon his graue, in which his name shall bee ingrauen, and his marke, or some such like thing.
c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) 177 Wyde wyndowes..Schynen wiþ schapen scheldes..Wiþ merkes of marchauntes y-medled bytwene.
1607 T. Heywood Woman Kilde with Kindnesse sig. G Take with thee euery thing that hath thy marke.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 38 I set a marke vpon these peeces, lest I should spend them.
1636 in W. T. Davis et al. Rec. Town of Plymouth (Mass.) (1889) I. 1 Every mans marke of his Cattle.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 201 We spent all Tuesday..in getting Marks put upon our Arms, as commonly all Pilgrims do.
1696 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) Mark,..Also a particular Character imprinted by Public Authority upon several things, either for the payment of Duties, or to prevent Adulteration.
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 207 The Company's Mark upon all their Goods, Bales, and Parcels.
1704 J. Norris Ess. Ideal World II. v. 293 A mark of the artificer impressed upon his work.
1797 J. Robinson Directory of Sheffield 137 Directory of the Manufacturers, with their marks.
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. Mark..Gunpowder Marks. The different sorts of gunpowder are distinguished by the following marks.
1838 C. Dickens Oliver Twist I. ix. 147 I'll show you how to take the marks out of the handkerchiefs.
1885 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 186 The first of these [hallmarks] was the King's mark—a leopard's or lion's head crowned.
1928 E. P. Goldschmidt Gothic & Renaissance Bookbindings I. 35 If the bindings with publishers' names or marks are ‘original publishers' bindings’..then surely all such bindings must contain books published by the man who signed the binding.
1981 I. McEwan Comfort of Strangers vi. 75 All these books were first editions and bore the mark of a distinguished bookseller.
1999 Times 1 Apr. 22/3 These [eggs] bear the Lion quality mark but also have an attractively-coloured yolk.
b. Heraldry. A small charge added to a coat of arms as a sign of distinction. mark of cadency n. a charge added or variation made to the original arms of a family to form the arms of a particular branch.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > charge: device on shield > [noun] > alteration or addition
difference1425
differing1592
brisure1623
mark1631
diminution1787
1631 B. Jonson Staple of Newes iv. iv. 61 in Wks. II Were he a learned Herald, I would tell him He can giue Armes, and markes.
1702 A. Nisbet (title) An essay on additional Figures and Marks of Cadency.
1718 M. Prior Henry & Emma 49 This lord..Had brought back his paternal coat enlarg'd With a new mark.
1797 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 445 Of all the forementioned marks of distinction, none but the label is affixed on the coats of arms belonging to any of the royal family.
1830 T. Robson Hist. Heraldry Lj/2 These marks of cadency..have crept into the general blazon of many coats of arms.
1882 Notes & Queries 25 Mar. 231 James..would in vita patris have borne as his mark of cadency the original crescent charged with a label.
1933 William & Mary Coll. Q. Hist. Mag. 13 242 Martlets are French Merles or female Blackbirds and are, in English Heraldry the mark of cadency belonging to fourth sons.
1977 O. Neubecker Heraldry Sources, Symbols & Meaning 97 The only feature which the system of marks of difference of English heraldry in general has in common with that of the royal family is the use of a silver label for the eldest son.
c. Freemasonry. [After the device or sign chosen by stonemasons as their identifying mark on admission as full members of their craft; although sometimes said to refer to the ‘mark’ of twelve stones left by the Children of Israel to commemorate their achievement in crossing the River Jordan and entering the Promised Land (Joshua 4).] A masonic degree immediately above that of free and accepted mason; also more fully mark degree. Frequently attributive designating a holder of this degree, as mark (master) mason, or a masonic institution relating to this degree, as mark lodge.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > secret society > [adjective] > relating to freemasonry > grade of
mark1769
superexcellent1798
society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > secret society > [noun] > the Freemasons > member > type of member or official
fellow-craft1696
master mason1696
grand master1722
master1722
wardena1723
pass-master1762
mark (master) mason1769
superexcellent1796
markman1853
Templar1859
society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > secret society > [noun] > the Freemasons > type of lodge
mark lodge1898
1769 Minutes Portsmouth Chapter of Friendship 1 Sept. in F. L. Pick & G. N. Knight Pocket Hist. Freemasonry (1953) xiv. 262 (mod. transcript from original cipher) Having lately rec'd the ‘Mark’ he made the bre'n ‘Mark Masons’ and ‘Mark Masters’.
1853 G. Oliver Dict. Symbolical Masonry at Mark Masons The degree of Mark-Master Mason may be considered as appendant to that of Fellow Craft, although entirely distinct..from it.
1862 Builder 1 Nov. 784/3 Gunn, who had cut out the cup, was a good mark-mason... Referring to mark-masonry, Mr. Gowans said [etc.].
1898 Daily News 25 Oct. 2/1 There was a distinguished gathering of Mark Master Masons at Windsor yesterday, when the Grand Mark Master of England, the Prince of Wales, having issued a warrant for a new Mark Lodge to be established at Windsor, the consecration took place at the Masonic Hall.
1913 Encycl. Relig. & Ethics vi. 102/2 Organizations calling themselves Masonic,..most being of quite modern growth. Among them may be mentioned..the Mark Masons, who are very flourishing in England.
1953 F. L. Pick & G. N. Knight Pocket Hist. Freemasonry xiv. 264 In Scotland and Ireland the position differed from England, the Mark being required as a qualification for the Royal Arch, which was recognised officially by neither Grand Lodge.
1982 Amer. Q. 34 548 The existence of Mark Masters Lodges, three Royal Arch chapters, and an Encampment of Knights Templar testified to interest in the fraternity's more elevated branches.
1983 F. Smyth Pick & Knight's Pocket Hist. Freemasonry (ed. 7) xi. 218 The status of the Mark degree in English Freemasonry has been emphasized by its royal Grand Masters.
15. A class or type of person or thing marked in some distinctive way.
†a. Likeness, resemblance, image; a type or class of person bearing some distinctive likeness (or, in more extended use, allegiance, etc.) to someone. Obsolete. mark of Adam n. Obsolete the male sex (perhaps more specifically: the male genitals).
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > race > [noun]
strindc900
bloodOE
gest13..
strainc1330
nationa1382
kindc1390
markc1395
prosapy?a1475
stock1549
stem?c1550
caste1555
spring1597
race1612
issue1620
nationality1832
society > society and the community > social class > symbol of rank > [noun] > those who bear a particular Mark or stamp
markc1395
c1395 G. Chaucer Franklin's Tale 880 Mankynde is so fair part of thy werk That thow it madest lyk to thyn owene merk.
c1395 G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale 696 Wommen..wolde han writen of men moore wikkednesse Than all the mark of Adam may redresse.
1542 H. Brinkelow Lamentacion sig. Bvv Not the Busshop of Rome alone, but he and all his marck with him.
1555 in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) III. App. xliv. 124 The Magistrates and Gentlemen may have like cause against them [sc. Catholic clergy], and al the Company of that Mark, which..was Cause of their Perjury.
†b. A flock of swans marked with the same identifying brand. Cf. swan-mark n. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Cyginae (swans) > [noun] > member of genus Cygnus (miscellaneous) > cygnus olor (common swan) > branded swan(s)
mark1482
swan-mark1550
ground-bird1560
1482 Rolls of Parl. VI. 224 Markes and Games of Swannes, in divers Countres.
1489 Will of Nicholas Hardy (P.R.O.: PROB. 11/8) f. 186v Unum marke de signis.
1500 Will of Richard Tyllisworth (P.R.O.: PROB. 11/12) f. 19 All that my marke and game of Swannys swymmyng within the Kinges ryver of the Thamyse.
1532 E. Stanley Corr. (1890) 90 The sd Lord Hussy..shall..kepe and leve..the game or marke of Swannes, as well replenyshed as they shall be, when he receyveth theym.
c. In earlier use: a particular make, design, or size of an article (originally identified by the maker with a particular device, stamp, etc.). Now chiefly (frequently as Mark followed by a numeral, abbreviated Mk.): a version or model of a manufactured product, representing a particular stage in its design and development; frequently figurative Mark I n. colloquial first class.Cf. marque n.2
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > [noun] > of construction or composition
shaft888
makea1325
suitc1330
makinga1398
mark1482
inventiona1513
workmanship1578
cut1590
model1597
mould1667
fashioning1870
Mk.1921
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacture or production > [noun] > stages or charts of production
mark1482
flow-line1882
flowsheet1912
flow chart1920
process chart1939
flow diagram1943
1482 H. Bryan Let. 2 May in Cely Lett. (1975) 147 Bespeke me xij dosin payre of Loven [= louvain] glovis: ij dosin of the marke of ij, iij dosin of the mark of iiij.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. v. xii. 68 In regard of the several differences of the length and marks, or Diameter of her Base and Muzzle-ring, no certain proportion can be generally assigned.
1758 Monthly Rev. 19 204 The prices of Grinding..and Diamond-cutting the several Marks or Sizes [of plate glass].
1837 J. Bennett in N. Whittock et al. Compl. Bk. Trades 225 The very heavy files..are made of the inferior marks of blistered steel.
1888 Treat. Mil. Small Arms & Ammunition 52 Enfield Revolver Pistol, Mark II.
1899 Kynoch Jrnl. Oct. 12/1 Despite the unfortunate failures at Edinburgh and Bisley of the bullet known as Mark iv.
1904 Speaker 11 June 240/2 The same mark varies so much from year to year that no one would dare to purchase without examining a sample bale [of wool].
1914 Times Bk. Navy vii. 99 The gun has progressed through successive stages, or ‘marks’ as they are technically known. Marks 3, 4, 5, and 5w were ‘built’ guns.
1926 L. Nason Chevrons 120 This is going to be a real, old issue, Mark I scrap.
1942 W. S. Churchill in Second World War (1951) IV. 768 There should be no difficulty in sparing 1,000 tanks and 1,000 anti-tank and A.A. guns. No doubt older marks might form the bulk.
1948 ‘N. Shute’ No Highway i. 7 The Mark I model [sc. an aeroplane] which went into production first had radial engines.
1974 Economist 21 Dec. 29/3 They are calling him [sc. Helmut Schmidt] Kissinger Mark II.
1975 J. Symons Three Pipe Probl. xv. 129 For his white clients Riverboat often played the role of American Negro, Mark One.
1994 D. Healy Goat's Song ii. 24 The first time it was a Lee Enfield .303 mark I with sights... The second time it was a Lee Enfield .303 mark 2 with sights and a light intensifier. Things had improved in the meantime.
d. colloquial (chiefly or only British). With possessive: a type of person or thing which particularly suits or pleases one.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > liking or favourable regard > [noun] > fact of being to one's taste > that which is to one's taste
mark1760
style1811
one's dish1918
1760 S. Foote Minor ii. 67 Harkee, knight, did not I tell you, old Moll was your mark. Here she has brought you a pretty piece of man's meat already.
1887 W. E. Henley Culture in Slums iii My mark's a tidy little feed, And 'Enery Irving's gallery.
1969 T. Parker Twisting Lane 21 This cottage was going, so I took it and here I am. It's just about my mark this is.
†16. An instrument for impressing a device, brand, etc., on something. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 20v (MED) A Buttir marke.
1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 15v A sheepe marke, a tarre ketle, litle or mitch, two pottles of tarre, to a pottle of pitch.
17.
a. Originally: a symbol placed against a pupil's name to record a correct answer given or some other indication of merit; a character or symbol placed beside a name in a register (of students, prison convicts, etc.) as a record of good or bad conduct. Subsequently: a point awarded for a correct answer in a test; a score for a test, piece of work, etc. (representing either the total number of points awarded, or a general standard achieved). Frequently figurative (esp. in full marks, high marks, top marks).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > expressions of commendation [interjection]
well-donea1500
macte1573
hear- him1727
hear1768
that's your sort1792
top marks1829
that's the spirit1853
good for you (also him, her, etc.)1855
good man1887
good egg1903
attaboy1909
to go up (also down) one1909
right on1911
hotcha1931
thataboy1936
hubba-hubba1944
chapeau1976
society > education > educational administration > examination > [noun] > marks
result1802
mark1829
stand1871
grade1886
society > communication > record > written record > register or record book > [noun] > entry in > mark against
mark1891
1829 E. Bulwer-Lytton Devereux I. i. iii. 30 I was one hundred marks before my brother.
1837 Orders & Regul. Harvard Univ. 8 The average of the marks given by the members of the [examining] Committee.
1852 C. A. Bristed Five Years Eng. University I. 101 All the papers together are worth 3000,..but no-one gets full marks.
1884 H. James En Province in Atlantic Monthly Feb. 223/1 One good mark for the French Revolution!
1889 F. E. Gretton Memory's Harkback vi. 105 I was once fifteen hours on the road... By rail I have done it in an hour and three-quarters. Full marks for steam, it may be thought; but [etc.].
1891 H. Matthews in Law Times 92 96/1 A convict who gains by steady industry the maximum number of marks during each day of his sentence.
1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xxxiv. 392 At the end of the year the graduate who made the highest mark in English and English Literature would win the scholarship.
1935 W. de la Mare Early One Morning 225 The schoolboy who collects nothing at all (except good or bad marks, or ‘colours’, or certificates) must be an odd fish.
1967 A. Wilson No Laughing Matter iii. 319 She, their own mother, was becoming jealous!.. She gave herself very bad marks indeed.
1981 Bon Appétit June 25/4 Food that gets top marks.
1984 G. H. Clarfield & W. M. Wiecek Nucl. Amer. iii. 56 Aware only that there was a war going on and convinced that the nuclear strikes had shortened it, most Americans..gave the president high marks.
1998 Guardian 5 Nov. ii. 2/2 Also scoring highly on the fashionometer are the cooler-than-thou slash-neck tops and—full marks here—finely pleated skirts.
2003 D. Rhoten et al. in M. Carnoy et al. New Accountability i. 41 The state department receives high marks from both outside experts and local educators for its training and professional development activities.
b. Horse Racing. In a handicap race: an official assessment of a horse's form, expressed as a figure between 0 and 140, and used as the basis for calculating the weight that the horse has to carry; more fully handicap mark.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > [noun] > official assessment
handicap mark1978
1978 J. Flint & F. North Why you lose at Racing xii. 121 An initial handicap mark of, say 45, does not mean that this horse retains that mark throughout the season.
1985 J. Adams Sprint Handicapping Explained ii. 14 Horses with a 4 lbs difference in their rating..will each be listed on the same mark if they happen to come within the same 5 lbs group.
1994 Times 30 Sept. ii. 35/2 James Fanshawe's progressive filly is running off a handicap mark 16 lb lower than when beaten..at Ascot last Friday.
18. Stock Market. [ < mark v. 19c.] An official record of a transaction, noting the price paid. Hence also: the price paid in a particular transaction, as noted in such a record.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [noun] > prices of stocks and shares > recording of prices or dealings
marking1847
mark1934
electronic book1970
1934 F. E. Armstrong Bk. Stock Exchange 387 Mark, the ‘record of business done’ in the Stock Exchange Lists is known as the ‘making of bargains’.
1951 Times 20 Feb. 8/2 The number of bargains recorded was 15,511, an increase of just over 1,000 compared with the previous Monday: rubber ‘marks’ jumped from 801 to 2,904 (they totalled 1,486 on Friday).
1968 J. D. Hamilton Stockbroking Today 315 Mark, the price at which a bargain has been executed, recorded for publication in the Official List and in certain daily newspapers.
1985 J. Walmsley Macmillan Dict. Internat. Finance (ed. 2) 136/2 The total number of marks is usually also used as an indicator of the activity in markets, although it is only an approximate guide.
V. A visible impression, marking, track, etc.
19.
a. A visible trace or impression on a surface (esp. skin), produced by nature, an accident, etc., as a stain, blemish, scar, fleck, stroke, dot. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > skin > mark on skin > [noun]
markOE
lineationa1398
areola1706
halo1706
Mongolian spot1907
triradius1960
the world > health and disease > ill health > blemish > [noun] > spot or mark
spotOE
markOE
tachea1400
macula?a1425
ruby1542
plotch1548
flea-biting1552
fleck1598
blanch1608
staina1616
naeve1619
neve1624
dark1637
sunspot1651
pip1676
liver spot1684
beauty spot1795
heat-spot1822
spilus1822
ink-spot1839
punctation1848
punctuation1848
macule1864
soldier's spots1874
pock1894
mouche1959
OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) iii. xii. 197 Hi..ymb hine gemearcodon anne hring on þære eorðan &..he..wæs belocen binnan þam mearce þæs hringes.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 290 Ure lauerd..dude marke [c1230 Corpus mearke; a1250 Nero merke; a1300 Caius merkunge] of þurlunge inure mungunge in ba twa hise honden.
c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 2742 Tristrem on huntinge rade, An het chaci bigan; Þer þe merkes were made His houndes, ouer þai ran.
a1400 (c1300) Northern Homily: Pilgrim of St. James (Coll. Phys.) in Middle Eng. Dict. at Sheren Thar his throt was scorn wit knif, A red merk was al his lif.
a1425 Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) Lev. xix. 28 Nether ȝe schulen make to ȝou ony fyguris ether markis in ȝoure fleisch.
1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) (1859) iv. xxxvi. 84 The honoure of suche persones ben many markes of woundes.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 699/1 It was scaulded whan I was yonge, but I shall beare the marke so longe as I lyve.
1568 (?a1513) W. Dunbar in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1928) II. 148 Sic losin sarkis, So mony glengoir markis Wtin this land was nevir hard nor sene.
1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. E1v For markes discried in mens natiuitie, Are natures faultes, not their owne infamie. View more context for this quotation
1614 S. Purchas Pilgrimage (ed. 2) vii. x. 702 Their blacke skinnes, white eyes, and cauterised markes seeme to conspire a dreadfull and gastly deformitie in their faces.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) i. ii. 82 I haue some markes of yours vpon my pate: Some of my Mistris markes vpon my shoulders. View more context for this quotation
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 9 The Arms of the Great Masters, who have been wounded in Action, are to be seen there, with marks upon them.
1705 London Gaz. No. 4179/4 An X burn mark on the near Buttock.
1775 M. Harris Eng. Lepidoptera 59 Y moth..Brown, having a mark in the middle of the wing like the letter Y.
1805 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 14 405 The marks he bore, were deemed a sufficient security against..the small-pox.
1828 J. Fleming Hist. Brit. Animals 96 Some feathers have a dark mark in the middle.
1831 Ann. Reg., Chron. 112 The mark of a bunch of currants on his breast, with which the boy was born.
1849 C. Dickens David Copperfield (1850) xx. 209 She has borne the mark ever since, as you see,..and she'll bear it to her grave.
1868 C. Darwin Variation Animals & Plants II. xiii. 42 A Spanish mule with strong zebra-like marks on its legs.
1907 R. Brooke in Westm. Gaz. 16 Feb. 6/1 Though the sullen years and the mark of pain Have changed you wholly.
1938 R. K. Narayan Dark Room i. 11 She..renewed the vermilion mark on her forehead.
1994 H. Holland Born in Soweto v. 101 They see you making cover-ups because of whatever faults or mishaps you did before, because of the colour of your skin, or the marks on your face.
b. Telecommunications. Each of a succession of strokes, dots, etc., on or holes in a paper strip whose relative duration and separation are used to convey information in telegraphy; (hence) any signal that conveys information by its intermittent presence and absence (rather than by its magnitude). Opposed to space n.1 16c. Cf. mark–space n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > [noun] > signal > conveying information by its presence or absence
mark1837
space1840
1837 Amer. Jrnl. Sci. 33 187 [Describing Morse's telegraph] To read the marks; count the points at the bottom of each line.
1859 T. P. Shaffner Telegr. Man. xxxiv. 469 The length of the mark or of the space upon the ribbon paper will be precisely the same as the length of the contact made with the key.
1891 C. L. Buckingham in C. F. Brackett et al. Electr. in Daily Life 143 In 1846 Bain proposed to employ perforated strips of paper to effect automatic transmission in connection with an electro-chemical process for recording, in which marks upon a moving band of paper are made by discoloration attending the passage through it of signalling currents.
1938 Admiralty Handbk. Wireless Telegr. II. K. 59 When the key is pressed, the valve oscillates and we have the mark period... During mark, the oscillating circuit constitutes the load.
1953 Electronics July 183/2 Mark–Space Phototubes. As the perforated tape passes through the keying head, pulses of light from the exciter lamps pass through the holes and alternately strike the tone-on (mark) and tone-off (space) phototubes. The phototubes conduct and produce alternate pulses of current.
1972 Sci. Amer. Dec. 16/3 The computer's input element is a photoelectric paper-tape reader that handles 1,000 ‘marks’ (punched holes) per second.
20.
a. A depression formed by a fold in the enamel of a horse's incisor tooth, which by its appearance and gradual wearing away gives some indication of the age of the animal. Also more fully mark of mouth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > body or parts of horse > [noun] > mouth or type of > teeth > that indicate age > hollow or depression indicating
mark of mouth?1440
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) iv. 886 (MED) The markis of their age ar lost at seuen.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §754 At eight yeares old, the Tooth is smooth, and the Hole gone, And then they say; That the Marke is out of the Horses Mouth.
1680 London Gaz. No. 1562/4 A Bright Bay Gelding, near 15 hands high,..the mark out of his mouth.
1707 tr. P. Le Lorrain de Vallemont Curiosities in Husbandry & Gardening 41 We may..say..as the Jockeys do of a Horse of eight or nine Years old, who has no longer certain Teeth in his Mouth; that his Mark is out.
1768 H. Brooke Fool of Quality III. xvi. 134 This horse is quite passed mark of mouth.
1831 W. Youatt Horse viii. 144 A method of prolonging the mark in the lower nippers..is called bishoping.
1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 537 Mark, the hollow upon the top of a young horse's teeth which wears down with years.
1962 J. Onslow Bowler-hatted Cowboy ii. 27 They [sc. two horses] seemed to be, by mark of mouth, not more than eight..years old.
1972 M. Rose Horseman's Notebk. (1975) 118 The mark or infundibulum—a dark depression on the tables of the teeth..surrounded by a distinct, narrow ring of enamel.
†b. figurative (of a person) and allusive. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1590 R. Harvey Plaine Percevall 4 The marke is not out of thy mouth, for thou hast a Colts tooth in thine head still.
a1625 J. Fletcher Wit without Money (1639) iv. sig. H1 Bisket that Bawdes have rubb'd their gummes upon like Curralls to bring the marke againe.
1824 J. Mactaggart Sc. Gallovidian Encycl. (at cited word) Old maidens are said sometimes to have lost the mark o' mouth.
1857 G. A. Lawrence Guy Livingstone viii. 77 Two ancient virgins, long past ‘mark of mouth’.
†21. In plural. [Compare march n.4] The footprints or tracks of an otter. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > thing hunted or game > [noun] > track
righta1425
view?1516
persue1530
abature1575
blemish1575
foil1575
marks1575
entry1627
gate1677
file1815
stain1832
1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie lxxix. 237 The Footing or the foote..Of an Otter..is to be called the Markes.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Marks, the Footing of an Otter.
1727 E. Chambers Cycl. at Hunting Terms for the Footing and Treading... Of an Otter the Marks.
22. to make a (also one's) mark: to make a permanent, important, or obvious impression on a person, field of study, activity, etc.; to attain distinction. Similarly to leave a (also one's) mark(s).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [verb (intransitive)] > occupy distinguished position
to make a (also one's) mark1820
bahadur1860
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > succeed or be a success [verb (intransitive)] > attain distinction
to make a (also one's) mark1820
to leave a (also one's) mark(s)1857
1820 J. E. Roscoe Poems 40 So, on my soul, do sorrow and dismay, and tracks of earthly suffering leave their mark.
a1847 T. Chalmers in J. R. Bartlett Dict. Amer. (1860) 262 Men..called out to make and leave their mark upon the world.
1854 Harper's Mag. Sept. 561/2 There was a time when Jacob made his mark upon the stock-brokers and money-changers of that monetary locality.
1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. xiii. 707 The movement was now becoming sufficiently active to leave its marks on the writings of far inferior men.
1898 Daily News 11 Jan. 6/7 Politicians who have left their mark upon the first sixty years of New Zealand's existence.
1909 G. Stein Three Lives 17 No scolding or abuse could make its mark on her uncouth and aged peasant hide.
1927 C. Bell Landmarks 19th-Cent. Painting 147 They have not failed to leave a mark on history.
1952 A. J. Cronin Adventures in Two Worlds i. 15 In medicine, or some other field, I believe that you will make your mark.
1974 Radio Times 3 Jan. 49/4 Pop music has produced many trendsetters—we pick three who've made their mark in the 70s.
1991 J. Richardson Picasso iii. 37 Originally settled by the Armorican Celts..[Corunna] was later colonized by successive invaders, each of whom left their mark.
VI. A target.
23.
a. A target, butt, or other object set up to be aimed at with a missile or projectile. Hence also: a person or animal targeted by an archer, spear-thrower, etc. Also in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > end, purpose, or object > goal or target
markc1275
lodestarc1374
aimc1400
mete1402
pricka1450
butta1522
level1525
white marka1533
goal1540
Jack-a-Lent1553
blankc1557
scope1562
period1590
upshot1591
bird1592
golden goal1597
nick1602
quarry1615
North Star1639
huba1657
fair game1690
endgame1938
target1942
cockshot1995
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > competitive shooting > [noun] > mark or target
markc1275
aimc1400
whitea1475
prop1496
level1525
scope1562
shot-mark1610
target1756
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 4229 Heoræ sceaftes weoren strake; of his flæsces heo makeden here marce [c1300 Otho marke].
c1300 St. Edmund King (Laud) 46 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 298 Huy benden heore bowene..and heore Arewene riȝten Ase to ane marke huy schoten to him.
a1450 ( tr. Vegetius De Re Militari (Douce) f. 8v (MED) He moste be tauȝt..þat he conne..schete his arewe..euene to þe mark þat it is to-ysette.
1528 W. Tyndale Doctr. Treat. (1848) 300 He that hitteth that mark..is pure gold.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Lament. iii. 12 He hath bent his bowe, and made me as it were a marck to shute at.
a1617 S. Hieron Penance for Sinne in Wks. (1620) II. 400 A shooter, who afarre off aymeth at a marke in the midst of a white; hee seeth the white, but not the marke; hee cannot hit the marke, which he seeth not, except hee hit the white, which hee seeth.
1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 167 Then the hunters all choose their marke, taking pleasure in darting their lances.
1792 H. H. Brackenridge Mod. Chivalry (1937) I. i. 54 When I am to fight a man of small size, I ought to have a longer pistol than my adversary, because my mark is smaller.
a1798 T. Pennant Tour on Continent (1948) 139 There are several agreeable walks..where the inhabitants of Frankfurt amuse themselves with dancing, shooting at marks etc.
1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports 508/2 Do not look from the mark to the arrow and back again.
1859 Regulations for Musketry Instr. Army 23 To fire with accuracy it is necessary the sights should be carefully aligned between the eye and the mark.
1909 J. London Koolau the Leper in House of Pride (1912) 63 He..judged the deflection of the wind that swept at right angles across the line of fire, and calculated the chances of overshooting marks that were so far below his level.
1938 ‘G. Orwell’ Homage to Catalonia iii. 41 Perched on the hill-tops as we were, we should have made lovely marks for artillery.
1985 J. van de Wetering Rattle-rat (1986) xxviii. 280 A professional job... Shoot the mark down... They were flown in for the contract.
b. figurative. beside (also †besides) the mark, far from the mark, wide of (also †from) the mark: failing to attain a goal or objective; not to the point, irrelevant; mistaken; inaccurate.to hit the mark: see hit v. 21a. to miss the mark: see miss v.1 2b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > relevance or pertinence > [phrase] > irrelevant
of purpose (also (out) of (a) (set) purpose)a1382
wide of (also from) the mark1536
neither off nor on1549
from the purpose1561
from (also out of) the bias1600
from the matter1658
(off) at, in, upon a tangent1825
1536 J. Gwynneth Confutacyon Fyrst Parte Frythes Boke xi. sig. d.iiiv All though they were bothe, of an equall euyll, yet so myche thou arte wyde of the marke, that he is farre, the worst of them bothe.
1633 T. Stafford Pacata Hibernia i. v. 39 Both the one and other were besides the marke.
1666 S. Pepys Diary 23 Sept. (1972) VII. 294 It cannot I believe be far wide from the mark.
1672 W. Walker Paroemiologia Anglo-Lat. 29 You are quite out of the way; wide of the mark; clearly mistaken;..Tota erras via.
1711 J. Greenwood Ess. Pract. Eng. Gram. 80 Beside denotes erring, or Wandring (‘as he shoots beside the mark’).
1765 D. Garrick Let. 3 Mar. (1963) II. 446 I dread a Stroler, they contract such insufferable Affectation that they disgust me—I never could account for the Country Actors being so very wide of ye mark.
1782 W. Cowper Mutual Forbearance in Poems 9 Sir Humphrey, shooting in the dark, Makes answer quite beside the mark.
1836 G. S. Faber Primitive Doctr. Election ii. vi. 330 Most wide, then, from the mark..is the modern Calvinist.
1845 J. R. McCulloch Treat. Taxation i. iii. 98 It may be..very wide of the mark when applied to the case of out-of-door labourers.
1883 Manch. Guardian 22 Oct. 5/3 Really this question is beside the mark.
1934 Discovery Mar. 79/2 All comparisons between individual moderns and individual Greeks or Cro-Magnons, are beside the mark in a discussion of the meaning of human progess as a whole.
1967 Guardian 11 July 6/5 The idea that the Israelis are anxious to..dictate a Carthaginian peace is ludicrously wide of the mark.
1986 L. Garfield December Rose xviii. 122 I'd sooner see a man in his true colours..and maybe wolf ain't so far from the mark.
2005 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 30 Jan. 42/1 The common belief that gladiatorial combat always involved a fight to the death is very wide of the mark.
c. figurative. near the mark: narrowly failing to attain a goal or objective; close to (attaining) a goal or objective; (also) close to the truth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > in relation to [phrase] > closely related to the point
near the mark1581
from the same stable1950
1581 W. Charke in A. Nowell et al. True Rep. Disput. E. Campion (1584) iv. Dd iiij Rone not in generall discourses, that come not neere the marke.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 114 There is..great difference among writers..yet I will endeauour to goe as neere the marke as can be.
1725 D. Eaton Let. 24 July (1971) 34 But I believe your Lordship will find that in this estimate I have come very near the mark.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. vi. ix. 284 As when two Doves,..or as when Strephon and Phillis (for that comes nearest to the Mark) are retired into some pleasant solitary Grove [etc.] . View more context for this quotation
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxxii. 411 We had drifted too much to allow of our dead reckoning being anywhere near the mark.
1885 J. K. Jerome On Stage 6 Five or six pounds per week would be near the mark.
1932 Punch 23 Nov. p. xxv (advt.) One of the new ‘light-weights’ at 30/- is pretty near the mark.
1988 M. Forster Elizabeth Barrett Browning x. 174 They..indulged in banter which would have been harmless if it had not come unwittingly so near the mark.
d. figurative. short of the mark: failing to reach a goal or objective (esp. by a small margin); inadequate; insufficient.
ΚΠ
1641 J. Symonds Serm. Westminster sig. Biiijv An arrow weakly shot, will fall short of the mark.]
1695 J. Woodward Ess. Nat. Hist. Earth 45 They [sc. the Means] were both levelled wide, and fell all short of the Mark.
1702 Eng. Theophrastus 303 The greatest fault of a penetrating wit is not coming short of the mark but overshooting it.
1740 C. Pitt tr. Virgil Æneid II. xii. 620 Short of the Mark, and guiltless of a Wound, Th'unwieldy Mass came thund'ring to the Ground.
1825 W. Scott Jrnl. 3 Dec. (1939) 28 He was very near being a poet—but a miss is as good as a mile, and he always fell short of the mark.
1861 G. J. Whyte-Melville Good for Nothing I. 146 Gilbert's efforts to amuse her often fell short of the mark.
1908 Polit. Sci. Q. 23 112 Mr. Fisher's work..does not fall short of the mark set by those many able men who have preceded him.
1998 S. Lawrence Montenegro 67 When required to dress for an unfamiliar occasion, Lydia Wadham worried that her best might fall somewhere short of the mark.
e. figurative. Horse Racing slang. on the mark: on target to win or succeed; in with a chance; (gen.) correct or precise in judgement (cf. on the money at money n. Phrases 1b(c)).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > [noun] > horse by performance
lightweight1773
sticker1779
maiden1807
favourite1813
mile-horse1829
outsider1836
heavyweight1857
stayer1862
stoner1862
rank outsider1869
pick1872
pot1874
timer1881
resurrectionist1883
short head1883
pea1888
cert1889
stiffa1890
wrong 'un1889
on the mark1890
place horse1890
top-weight1892
miler1894
also-ran1895
selection1901
loser1902
hotpot1904
roughie1908
co-favourite1922
readier1922
springer1922
fav1935
scratch1938
no-hoper1943
shoo-in1950
scorer1974
1890 Daily News 10 Dec. 3/7 Backers were also well on the mark in standing Alfred for the Park selling Hurdle.
1987 Grimsby Evening Tel. 13 Nov. 19 The trainer, on the mark with Deep South..saddles Tickite Boo in the..Gold Cap.
1991 N.Y. Times 13 Nov. c12/5 For the third category, the French experts are pretty much on the mark.
1992 Sporting Life 9 Oct. 10/1 John Gosden's good run has slowed down somewhat but he can still be on the mark with Correspondence.
†24. A target for a malign force, public opprobrium, etc. Also: an ambition, accomplishment, etc., towards which one aims (cf. sense 6). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > wish or inclination > desire > aspiration or ambition > [noun] > object of aspiration
ambitionc1475
markc1550
prize1569
Americaa1631
will to win1917
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) xv. 97 I am the merk of the but contrar the quhilk euere man schutis arrous of tribulatione.
c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme lv. 9 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 55 [I am] A mark to wrath and hate and wrong assign'd.
1608 D. Tuvill Ess. Politicke, & Morall f. 114v Must needes discouer the marke of his disordinate Ambition.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis xii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 578 Turnus..Himself become the Mark of publick spight.
1743 E. Young Complaint: Night the Fifth 57 Death loves a shining Mark, a signal Blow.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Walking to Mail in Poems (new ed.) II. 50 He thought himself A mark for all, and shudder'd, lest a cry Should break his sleep by night.
1871 J. S. Blackie Four Phases Morals i. 10 There was something..that could not fail to make him the mark of general observation.
1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems lxviii. 2 Thy sad tear-scrawl'd letter, a mark to the storm.
†25. The quarry of a hawk, etc. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hawking > quarry > [noun]
quarryc1450
mark1577
flight1828
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iv. f. 157v They..are alwayes the fayrest marke in a Hawke, or a Bussardes eye.
1589 R. Greene Menaphon sig. D4 The Hobbie catcheth no pray, vnlesse she mount beyonde her marke.
1673 J. Dryden Marriage a-la-Mode v. i. 70 It vexes me to the heart..to have flown her so often to a mark, and still to be bob'd at retrieve.
1686 R. Blome Gentlemans Recreation ii. v. 30/1 After she hath flowen to mark, she will sit or fly according to her mettle and nature.
1691 J. Dryden King Arthur iii. i. 23 Oh still thou think'st to fly a Fool to Mark.
26. cant and colloquial.
a. Among criminals: a person, property, etc., targeted for robbery or burglary; (also) an item to be stolen.
ΚΠ
1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares 53 None is so much the thieues mark as the myser and the Carle.
1742 Ordinary of Newgate, his Acct. 13 Jan. 14/2 I seeing there was a large Parcel of Plate, told my companions there was a Mark, and we agreed to have it.
1753 Discov. J. Poulter (ed. 2) 4 At Night the Horses came by, and he shew'd us all one particular Pack, and said that's your Mark.
c1920 in R. A. Bruns Knights of Road (1980) 93 The Safecracker... The Main Stem I prowl for a mark.
1933 Amer. Mercury Apr. 393 A mark was a safe that could be blown.
1950 Harper's Mag. Feb. 70/2 A mark may be any considerable sum of money or the equivalent in readily convertible swag.
1984 Time 27 Aug. 38 His home had been tossed by burglars, his stereo and video equipment stolen... It appeared that the welcoming signs of kindly neighbors had pointed out the mark.
b. A person who is easily persuaded, deceived, or taken advantage of; a victim targeted by a swindler, cheat, etc. Frequently with modifying word, as soft, easy, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > duping, making a fool of > [noun] > gullible person, dupe
foola1382
woodcockc1430
geckc1530
cousinc1555
cokes1567
milch cow1582
gudgeon1584
coney1591
martin1591
gull1594
plover1599
rook1600
gull-finch1604
cheatee1615
goata1616
whirligig1624
chouse1649
coll1657
cully1664
bubble1668
lamb1668
Simple Simon?1673
mouth1680
dupe1681
cull1698
bub1699
game1699
muggins1705
colour1707
milk cow1727
flat1762
gulpin1802
slob1810
gaggee1819
sucker1838
hoaxee1840
softie1850
foozle1860
lemon1863
juggins1882
yob1886
patsy1889
yapc1894
fall guy1895
fruit1895
meemaw1895
easy mark1896
lobster1896
mark1896
wise guy1896
come-on1897
pushover1907
John1908
schnookle1908
Gretchen1913
jug1914
schnook1920
soft touch1924
prospect1931
steamer1932
punter1934
dill1941
Joe Soap1943
possum1945
Moreton Bay1953
easy touch1959
1749 in E. Partridge Dict. Underworld (1949) 432/1 You are a full Mark; you can't well be missed.
1860 F. Greenwood & J. Greenwood Under Cloud II. xiv. 332 ‘There's a mark!’ exclaimed one to the other, looking towards the spot where Hatcher was standing.
1883 J. Greenwood Tag, Rag, & Co. iii. 24 Publicans..are usually the unfortunate tradesmen fixed on as a mark.
1896 G. Ade Artie xvi. 150 He was the wise guy and I was the soft mark.
1904 G. H. Lorimer Old Gorgon Graham 288 He was too easy a mark to succeed in Wall Street.
1956 H. Gold Man who was not with It i. 6 I floated down..to kick the smaller mark where it would tell on him.
1962 J. Ludwig in R. Weaver Canad. Short Stories (1968) 2nd Ser. 255 He was repulsive, old, a mark, a fool—his nerve went.
1968 B. Turner Sex Trap xv. 148 You thought I might like to turn myself into an ugly mark! A square with a loud voice and a shopping-bag! Marriage!
1973 ‘E. McGirr’ Bardel's Murder ii. 31 In the twenties it was the Yanks who was the suckers, but now..it's us who are the marks.
1991 J. Sayles Los Gusanos ii. 13 Dewey asks for the time and when the mark lifts his arm to check, he sticks..[the gun] in the kid's ribs and squeezes off.
c. Australian. In weakened sense: a person or fellow. Frequently with good or bad, esp. with reference to financial probity.
ΚΠ
1835 Cornwall Chron. (Launceston, Austral.) 14 Mar. 3 It is currently reported that several gentlemen—known amongst the trades-people of Sydney as ‘bad marks’—intend embracing the present opportunities of leaving the Colony with a ‘flying topsail’.
1845 R. Howitt Impressions Austral. Felix 233 I heard it casually from the lips of apparently respectable settlers as they rode on the highway, ‘Such and such a one is a good mark!’—simply a person who pays his men their wages, without delays or drawbacks; a man to whom you may sell anything safely.
1854 C. A. Corbyn Sydney Revels 132 They knows I'm the wrong mark to peach on 'em.
1867 J. R. Houlding Austral. Capers 339 He says I am considered a ‘first-rate mark’ in Sydney, and he can exchange my bills..without the least trouble.
1941 S. J. Baker Pop. Dict. Austral. Slang 46 Mark, good (or bad), a general term of approval (or disapproval) for a person.
1951 S. Hickey Travelled Roads 38 They were usually long-winded and otherwise bad marks, through trying to make one pound do the work of ten.
d. Among tramps: a place from which (or occasionally a person from whom) it is easy to obtain food, money, or shelter; a hostel.
ΚΠ
1895 ‘J. Flynt’ in Harper's Weekly 10 Aug. 757/2 I asked one of the tramps..whether he knew of any ‘mark’ in the town. [Note A house where something is always given to beggars].
1910 G. Z. Edwards Vicar as Vagrant 7 Their talk is about ‘marks’, and the best houses on the road at which to beg.
1926 Hobo Lingo in Amer. Speech 1 652/1 Mark, a person or place, ‘easy’ for food or money.
1936 W. A. Gape Half a Million Tramps vii. 202 A ‘mark’ is one who has become known to tramps as certain for a shilling or two in return for a good story.
1982 Daily Tel. 19 Apr. 2/6 Toc H ‘Marks’ or hostels were founded..to give youngsters coming to the capital houses with a family atmosphere.
e. Chiefly U.S. Among fairground and carnival workers: a member of the public, a customer.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > buying > buyer > [noun] > customer or client
customer1409
callant1502
patron1607
commercer1654
merchant1673
client1833
mark1935
punter1965
1935 Amer. Mercury June 230 Mark, citizen; a word possibly derived from mark, meaning target.
1946 W. L. Gresham Nightmare Alley 4 The ‘marks’ surged in—young fellows in straw hats.
1952 N.Y. Times 18 May iv. 58 The marks got lost down the back end with all those girls and freaks.
1972 Playboy Feb. 126 Fake fight or real, the holler 'n' uproar had been fair enough to fill the tent with marks.
1983 Batman Apr. 17 I wrestled alligators to entertain the marks.
†27. The female genitals, regarded as a sexual target. In quot. 1756: the clitoris. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun]
cuntc1230
quivera1382
chosec1386
privy chosea1387
quoniamc1405
naturec1470
shell1497
box1541
water gate1541
mouth1568
quiver case1568
water gap1586
cunnya1593
medlar1597
mark1598
buggle-boo1600
malkin1602
lap1607
skin coat1611
quim1613
nest1614
watermilla1626
bum1655
merkin1656
twat1656
notch1659
commodity1660
modicum1660
crinkum-crankum1670
honeypot1673
honour1688
muff1699
pussy1699
puss1707
fud1771
jock1790
cock?1833
fanny?1835
vaginac1890
rug1893
money-maker1896
Berkeley1899
Berkeley Hunt1899
twitchet1899
mingea1903
snatch1904
beaver1927
coozie1934
Sir Berkeley1937
pocketbook1942
pranny1949
zatch1950
cooch1955
bearded clam1962
noonie1966
chuff1967
coozea1968
carpet1981
pum-pum1983
front bum1985
coochie1986
punani1987
front bottom1991
va-jay-jay2000
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost iv. i. 130 A mark saies my Lady. Let the mark haue a prick in't, to meate at, if it may be. View more context for this quotation
1677 Wits Acad. 97 I lay i'th dark, Yet he took such aim that he hit the right mark.
1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure I. 82 Her thighs were still spread, and the mark lay fair for him.
1756 Mem. Oxf. Scholar 39 I discovered there with my bold eye the erect mark of her sex.
28. Bowls. The jack. Also: a position allowed for the jack resulting from an initial delivery.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > bowls or bowling > [noun] > jack
master-bowl1530
master1579
mistressa1586
block1598
mistress bowl1598
Jacka1616
mark1630
jack bowl1653
tee1789
kitty1898
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > bowls or bowling > [noun] > jack > position of
mark1630
1630 J. Taylor Wit & Mirth in Wks. ii. 193/2 The marke which they ayme at hath sundry names and Epithites, as a Blocke, a Jacke, and a Mistris.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. at Bowling Mark is a proper bowling distance, not under so many yards; and being at least a yard and a half from the edge of the green.
1875 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports (ed. 12) iii. i. iii. §3. 683 If the leader in two trials shall fail to deliver the jack a mark, his opponent is then entitled to set the mark.
1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 180/2 A game termed carreau..somewhat similar to bowls, the jack or mark being set up on a square stone at the end of an alley... ‘Mark’, or ‘set a mark’, means the delivery of the jack at the commencement of a game.
1927 Bowls News 10 Feb. 3/2 On crown greens..on account of the undulation of the green it would be practically impossible to perform satisfactorily, especially on some of the ‘marks’ near the ditches.
1988 H. Barratt Crown Green Bowls iv. 61 Should you lose the end, your opponent will be back on the mark he favours.
29. The object at which a blow or thrust is aimed. In Boxing slang: the pit of the stomach (also †Broughton's mark [ < the name of John Broughton (1705–89), English boxer] ).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > boxing > [noun] > object of attack
mark1747
target1921
1747 J. Godfrey Treat. Useful Sci. Def. 6 The smaller his [sc. a fencer's] mark is, the harder it is for him to hit.
1747 J. Godfrey Treat. Useful Sci. Def. 57 Gretting had the nearest Way of going to the Stomach (which is what they [sc. pugilists] call the Mark) of any Man I knew.
1823 ‘J. Bee’ Slang Mark (ring), the pit of the stomach is termed ‘the mark’, and ‘Broughton's mark’.
1851 G. Borrow Lavengro lxxxviii I happened to hit Tom, of Hopton, in the mark, as he was coming in, so that he lost his wind.
1903 P. G. Wodehouse Tales of St. Austin's 157 Charteris..‘swung his right at the mark’. The ‘mark’..is that portion of the anatomy which lies hid behind the third button of the human waistcoat. It covers—in a most inadequate way—the wind.
1933 C. St. J. Sprigg Fatality in Fleet St. ix. 110 His fist had caught the private secretary very hard on the ‘mark’.
VII. An indicator of position or of a limit.
30.
a. An indicator of position; esp. a physical indicator (as a line, dot, notch, etc.) intended to record or denote a position or limit.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > marking > marking to identify > mark of identification > [noun] > identifying a position
markc1392
guide1875
sub-target1901
c1392 Equatorie of Planetis 26 (MED) Wt þt moeuable poynt, mak a marke astrik in the label.
c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Augustine (1910) 22 (MED) He sperd the bok..and leyd at þe same reson a merk, be whech he myth rydily turne þertoo.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 262 (MED) For to haue getten it to the marke, I trow lewde man ne clerk Nothyng better shuld.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 529/1 You have dronke to me, but you muste drinke agayne, for you tolde me nat whether you dranke to a marke or els al out.
1656 A. Cowley Davideis iv. 152 in Poems Almost all great changes in the world are used as Marks for separation of Times.
1725 J. Bradley in Penny Cycl. (1836) V. 320/1 By this observation ye mark is about 3″ 3/ 4 too much south, but adjusting ye mark and plumbline I found ye Index at 81/ 2.
1807 C. Hutton Course Math. (ed. 5) II. 59 Having set up marks at the corners, which is to be done in all cases where there are not marks naturally; measure [etc.].
1858 O. W. Holmes Autocrat of Breakfast-table iii. 70 I think there are a great many gentlemen and others, who read with a mark to keep their place.
1870 M. Bridgman Robert Lynne I. xiii. 216 She slips the letter in her novel for a mark.
1913 V. B. Lewes Oil Fuel vi. 177 The number of seconds taken by the oil to flow up to the 50 c.c. mark on the flask is noted.
1945 A. L. Winton & K. B. Winton Anal. of Foods 615/1 Cool to about 20°, fill exactly to the mark, mix, and polarize at 20° in a 200-mm. tube.
1997 J. Wilson Coarse Fishing Method Man. 179/1 The way to release the line is to allow the float to go beyond the mark on your line by a few yards and then wind down tight to the float.
b. figurative. A fixed or recognized standard or level. Frequently in phrases, as (to be) above (also beneath, near, under, up to, within, etc.) the mark.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > trial or experiment > trial, test, or testing > [noun] > criterion
rulec1384
meteyard?1531
touchstone?1531
plumb line1551
plummet1553
metewanda1568
touch1581
stone of touch1604
criterion1622
scale1626
criteriuma1631
measure1641
judge1642
criterie1660
foot-rule1662
mark1765
point of reference1772
metera1825
reference point1849
yardstick1869
benchmark1884
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > [adjective] > to a standard
(to be) above (also beneath, near, under, up to, within, etc.) the mark1821
1765 S. Foote Commissary iii. 56 He is rather under your mark, I am afraid; not above twenty at most.
1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1776 II. 63 Does not Gray's poetry, Sir, tower above the common mark?
1821 T. Jefferson Autobiogr. in Writings (1984) 11 He feared that Mr. Nicholas, whose mind was not yet up to the mark of the times, would undertake the answer.
1822 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 2 Feb. 286 If prices fall a great deal lower than their present mark.
1845 J. R. McCulloch Treat. Taxation ii. vi. 263 It is, if anything, rather below than above the mark.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 336/2 Say half a million turned over in a year, sir,..and you're within the mark.
1861 G. J. Goschen Theory Foreign Exchanges 14 The indebtedness under the present hypothesis is not excessive but under the mark.
1861 F. W. Robinson No Church I. 309 He made the sum come pretty near the mark—just a five pound note out.
1878 ‘G. Eliot’ College Breakfast Party in Macmillan's Mag. July 175 A vanity Which finds the universe beneath its mark.
1888 W. E. Norris Rogue ix There wouldn't be much excuse for me if I weren't up to the mark.
1937 W. H. Saumarez Smith Let. 11 Apr. in Young Man's Country (1977) ii. 67 Today, I am not feeling up to the mark, so I've not gone to office.
1988 Which? Feb. 80/1 If you've bought something which isn't up to the mark..what can you do?
c. Preceded by a numeral or quantity: a limit, level, etc., represented by a round or approximate figure, or by some other significant or recognized amount.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [noun] > quality or fact of being extreme > limit or threshold
endc825
one's stint1602
mark1893
threshold1920
1860 W. M. Thackeray Roundabout Papers vi, in Cornhill Mag. Aug. 256 The Cornhill Magazine..having sold nearly a hundred thousand copies, he (the correspondent) ‘should think forty thousand was now about the mark’.]
1893 Westm. Gaz. 8 June 5/2 Her [sc. a mare's] favouritism went back to the 10 to 1 mark.
a1902 F. Norris Pit (1903) iii. 102 Wheat..had advanced another eighth, broken to one-quarter, then jumped to the five-eighths mark.
1929 Star 21 Aug. 18/2 Dennis Brothers' 1s. shares can usually be regarded as a reasonable purchase under the £3 mark.
1948 D. Ballantyne Cunninghams i. iii. 15 The blokes..were around the forty mark.
1965 N. Paul Cine-photogr. ii. 19 There is a tremendous range of models on the market today, especially in the 8 mm. gauge, where they can..soar up to the £300 mark.
1973 Times 14 Apr. (Nepal Suppl.) p. ii/9 If the present trend continues, the 25 million mark may be reached before the end of the century.
1995 Independent on Sunday 2 Apr. (Business section) 3/2 There were 375,000 CD-ROM drives in the UK at the start of the year, Mr Tabizel says. Now there are 600,000, and he expects the million mark to be cracked in June.
31. Nautical.
a. A piece of material or a knot used to indicate a depth (usually in fathoms) on a sounding line. Chiefly in by the mark followed by a number, as called out during soundings.mark twain: see twain adj. 2c.
ΚΠ
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine at Sounding If the mark of 5 fathoms is close to the surface of the water, he calls ‘By the mark five!’
1825 E. Fitzball Pilot i. iv. 15 Pilot. Stand by your sheets; heave away that lead! Tom. By the mark seven!
c1860 H. Stuart Novices or Young Seaman's Catech. (rev. ed.) 43 Suppose you had five fathoms of water, what soundings would you call? By the mark five.
1908 Man. Seamanship (1915) I. iv. 131 If the depth of water obtained corresponds with any of the marks on the line, the leadsman calls ‘By the mark 5’, ‘By the mark 7’, &c.
1961 F. H. Burgess Dict. Sailing 42 By the mark. The phrase prefixed to a sounding, as reported by the leadsman when one of the marks on the line is at water level while the line is vertical.
b. marks and deeps n. a method of indicating the depths on a sounding line, the marks being indicated fathoms and the deeps estimated fathoms between the marks.
ΚΠ
1840 F. Marryat Poor Jack xxv. 179 Now run the line through your hand, and see if you can repeat the marks and deeps as they pass.
c1860 H. Stuart Novices or Young Seaman's Catech. (rev. ed.) 42 How many marks and deeps are there in a 20-fathom lead line? Nine marks and eleven deeps.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Hand-line, a line bent to the hand-lead, measured at certain intervals with what are called marks and deeps from 2 and 3 fathoms to 20.
32.
a. Australian Rules Football. The catching of a ball directly from a kick of at least ten metres, thus winning a free kick to be taken from that point; the spot from which such a free kick is taken.
ΚΠ
1859 in C. C. Mullen Hist. Austral. Rules Football (1959) 11 A mark is made when a player catches the ball before it hits the ground and after it has been clearly kicked by another player.
1965 Sun-Herald (Sydney) 4 July 51 Geelong Rover, Terry Farman, won a trophy for the best mark taken by his team.
1969 Sun-Herald (Sydney) 13 July 48/1 Close took a beautiful one-handed mark, his tenth for the game,..but kicked only a point.
1988 Rugby News Nov. 23/3 Why not follow the practice in Aussie Rules where a mark is simply a clean catch, although you still have to shout ‘mark’.
b. Rugby Union. Originally: a heel-mark in the ground made by a player who has caught the ball direct from a kick, knock-on, or forward throw by an opponent, thereby claiming a free kick from that point. Subsequently: a clean catch taken by a player within his or her twenty-two metres area, direct from a kick by an opponent.Modern rules no longer require a heel-mark to be made; the catcher instead shouts ‘Mark!’ in order to claim a free kick.
ΚΠ
1862 Rulebk. in J. Macrory Running with Ball (1991) xi. 97 If any of the other side have caught it and made his mark they are obliged to stop charging.
1867 Laws Football Rugby School (new ed.) 2 A Fair Catch is a catch from a kick, or a knock on from the hand..of the opposite side, or a throw on, when the catcher makes a mark with his heel.
1896 Field 1 Feb. 173/1 A goal had also been kicked by Finlay from a mark.
1960 E. S. Higham & W. J. Higham High Speed Rugby xiii. 183 The method of making a fair-catch is to make a mark on the ground with the heel as the ball is caught, and to call: ‘Mark!’
33. Chiefly Sport (originally Athletics).
a. A competitor's starting point in a race; a line drawn to indicate this.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > [noun] > starting or finishing mark > starting mark
score1513
starting place1570
goal1589
barrier1600
lists1601
starting post1631
scratch1772
starting line1812
mark1887
start line1908
gate1928
mobile1969
1887 M. Shearman Athletics & Football (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) 65 It requires, however, much skill and practice not to ‘take off’ before the mark [in jumping].
1887 M. Shearman Athletics & Football (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) 198 Nothing was said until the men got upon their marks.
1905 Pearson's Mag. Sept. 290/2 He..beat his field by a yard or two off the mark.
1912 E. H. Ryle Athletics 91 This method..assists a runner to keep steady on the mark while awaiting the report of the pistol.
1987 Carriage Driving Spring 19/2 The handicapper will assign each runner a mark, allowing approximately ten yards per second.
b. (get) on your mark(s): an instruction to athletes to take up their positions on the line in preparation for the start of a race; an instruction to competitors to prepare for the start in other kinds of race (e.g. swimming). Also figurative.Unless a starting gun or other signal is used, ‘on your mark(s)’ is usually followed by the instructions ‘get set, go!’, or just ‘go!’
ΚΠ
1887 M. Shearman Athletics & Football (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) 198 Nothing was said until the men got upon their marks.]
1893 N.Y. Times 19 Jan. 3/5 ‘Get on your marks!’ he said. ‘I'll start this race if I blow off my whole hand!’
1904 R. H. Barbour (title) On your mark!: a story of college life and athletics.
1907 Michigan Pioneer & Hist. Soc. 35 575 I am sure that just about the point where the thrill comes, someone would shout ‘On your mark—Get set—Go!’ and the sprinting match would be on.
1928 E. Waugh Decline & Fall i. viii. 90 ‘On your marks! Get set.’ Bang went Philbrick's revolver. Off trotted the boys on another race.
1929 F. N. Hart Hide in Dark i. 25 All set? On your mark!
1930 L. W. Olds Track Athletics iv. 26 On Your Marks... Get Set... Go or Gun.
1946 B. Marshall George Brown's Schooldays v. 22 On your marks, go. The thing was to lob them [sc. rissoles] out like fives pills.
1954 G. Mitchell On your Marks xv. 172 ‘On your marks,’ said the starter. The swimmers were poised and ready. ‘Go!’
1970 B. Marlow & D. Watts Track Athletics ii. 18 It is recommended that the shoulders should be forward when the athlete settles into the blocks on the command ‘On your marks’.
1990 Chicago Tribune 17 June 13 OK, all you home tapers: On your marks, get set, go. The Met's new ‘Der Ring der Nibelungen’, airing this week.
c. figurative. to get (also be) off the (also one's) mark: to start, get going. to be slow off the mark: to start slowly; to waste time in starting. to be quick off (occasionally also on) the mark: to lose no time in starting; to waste no initial advantage; to act with alacrity; to be precipitate (in doing something). to be first off the mark: to gain an initial lead over one's opponents or competitors.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > proceed rapidly [verb (intransitive)] > take prompt action
spring1548
to take at the (first) bounda1556
to be quick off (occasionally also on) the mark1914
to jump to it1917
to snap (in)to1918
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > beginning > begin [verb (intransitive)] > well
to get (also be) off the (also one's) mark1914
to get off the ground1961
the world > action or operation > manner of action > slowness of action or operation > be or become slow [verb (intransitive)] > be dilatory
slowOE
tarrya1375
linger1548
procrastinate1548
slackc1560
forslow1571
to hang back1581
to hang an (also the) arse1596
to hang fire1782
to be slow off the mark1972
1914 P. G. Wodehouse Man Upstairs 273 A man who has been shut up for two days in a small room is seldom slow off the mark when a chance presents itself of taking exercise.
1917 E. Pound Let. 12 Aug. (1971) 114 I have been a bit slow getting the Little Review off the mark.
1919 E. P. Oppenheim Strange Case Mr. Jocelyn Thew i. xiii. 112 ‘Did he make any trouble?’ ‘He had no chance..I was first off the mark.’
1928 Observer 5 Feb. 23/5 When you really wish to get going you have a second, a third and a top speed change which will get the car off the mark, in the old phrase, in an inspiriting manner.
1931 Oxf. Mail 29 Aug. 8/3 G. Fisher and L. Rogers were quickly off the mark, 20 runs being scored in the first ten minutes.
1936 ‘R. Hyde’ Passport to Hell v. 89 Places where the police weren't so quick off the mark if the landlord passed a few sleevers over the counter after six o'clock.
1958 J. Wain Contenders v. 102 Ned was off the mark at once... Blue Seal Pottery seemed to become a vogue overnight.
1972 W. A. Pantin Oxf. Life iv. 50 Dr. William Buckland..was very quick on the mark with putting in plans for the future use of the building.
1973 South Wales Echo 30 June Then the whole Burke Special team can get off their mark.
1987 Grimsby Evening Tel. 6 Nov. 19/3 Swingit Gunner is..no ordinary horse and, since getting off the mark at Redcar in the summer, he has completed a hat-trick.
1996 Financial Post (Canada) 18 Oct. 8/4 The Ottawa-based company is first off the mark with a receiver that it claims is the smallest, lowest-cost satellite dish of its type in the world.
34. Sport. esp. Athletics (originally U.S.). A time, distance, etc., achieved by a competitor, esp. one which represents a record or personal best; (hence) an official record.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > racing on foot > [noun] > time achieved by athlete
mark1900
1900 N.Y. Times 5 Oct. 8/4 (heading) New York Athletic Club sprinter also lowers the time for 300 and 400 yard marks.
1906 N.Y. Times 31 May 8/6 The new figures made by Gilbert are over an inch and one half better than the previous mark.
1915 Globe (Toronto) 13 Nov. 11/6 George Goulding gave the two-mile walk record a severe jolt, lowering it from 13.39, his own mark, to 13.27.
1932 Scholastic Coach Mar. 7/2 He had to relinquish the laurels to Lundquist of Sweden, who then in trials attained the best mark of his life.
1967 N.Y. Times 11 Feb. 36/3 Sjoeberg..broke the mark on the opening day of the international ski-jumping week.
1974 Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) 27 Oct. 1- c/4 The victory was the third straight for Cleveland, which concluded its first six games..with a 3–3 mark.
1986 Swimming Times Sept. 25/1 The England/Wales squad of 21 swimmers achieved 17 World marks, and brought home 22 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze medals.
35. With following numeral: a specific temperature setting on a standard scale used for measuring oven temperature in cookery; = gas mark n.
ΚΠ
1929 Radiation Cookery Bk. p. iv It will be noticed that a ‘Regulo’ setting of Mark ¼ or Mark ½ is recommended... These Marks produce lower oven temperatures than are given by a ‘Regulo’ setting of Mark 1.
1943 L. Chatterton Mod. Cookery 363 Afternoon tea scones... Time: 20 minutes. Temperature: Gas, Regulo Mark 7.
1955 M. Patten Learning to Cook 96 Bake in the centre of a hot oven, Mark 7 or 450 deg. F., for about 35 minutes.
1974 J. Grigson Eng. Food 155 Put into the oven at mark 8, 450°..until the pastry is a nice colour.
1984 M. Norwak W. Indies Bk. Bread & Buns 10 Plain white and wholemeal doughs are generally baked at 230°C (450°F) mark 8.
36. Chiefly Film and Television. A line, piece of adhesive tape, or similar feature, on the floor of a film set, studio, stage, etc., showing the position at which an actor is to stand.
ΚΠ
1965 W. K. Kingson & R. Cowgill Television Acting & Directing x. 73/2 When..[the actor] does walk onto the set, where does he walk to?.. Should you have a tape mark to show him where to stop?
1976 B. Armstrong Gloss. TV Terms 60 Mark, a small length of adhesive tape on a studio floor, giving precise position to an actor.
1985 TV Week (Melbourne) 27 Apr. 80/3 She arrived on the set and..asked the crew to change her ‘mark’—the chalk line on the studio floor.
1992 M. Riva Marlene Dietrich 393 The stuntwoman..galloped into the oasis and stopped on her marks.
37. = Plimsoll's mark at plimsoll n. 1.
ΚΠ
1966 Sunday Mail Mag. (Brisbane) 3 Apr. 3/2 Next evening, and loaded almost to her marks with machinery, steel plates and pipes, the SS Long Point cleared the Liverpool bar and began the first leg of her long seven-knot haul away ‘down-under’.
1974 F. Mowat Boat who wouldn't Float ii. 16 Wilbur had taken us into a broadside collision with an enormous truck loaded down to her marks with pulpwood logs.
1990 F. Dodman Observers Ships (ed. 2) ii. 43 Many of the ships have a bulbous bow, but when the ship is down to her marks, it cannot be seen.
VIII. Attention, notice.
38. Attention or notice; remark; esp. in worthy of mark. Now chiefly archaic.In quot. 1602: †an observation (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > [noun]
gomec1175
thoughtc1175
tenta1300
curec1300
intentc1320
keepa1325
heed1357
attendancec1374
attentionc1374
aspect1393
marka1400
notea1400
advertencea1413
markingc1443
regard1457
advertisementc1487
noticec1487
attent?a1500
advertation?c1500
respect1509
garda1569
intendiment1590
on-waiting1590
attend1594
tendment1597
attending1611
fixationa1631
adversion1642
heeding1678
attendancya1680
perpensity1704
observe1805
intending1876
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > notice, observation > [noun]
marka1400
notea1400
notinga1427
markingc1443
viewc1450
noticec1487
observation1547
observancy1567
animadversion1573
observance1602
remark1614
remarking?1626
notification1659
observala1734
observe1830
a1400 (c1300) Northern Homily: Serm. on Gospels (Coll. Phys.) in Middle Eng. Dict. at Mark(e On him mai I best found mi werke, And of his dedes tac mi merke.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xvii. 103 (MED) May vch man se and gode merke take Who is bihynde and who bifore.
a1450 York Plays (1885) 42 (MED) Of shippe-craft can I right noght; Of ther makyng haue I no merke.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. vii. xxxiv. 273 All this went hee to espie..clad in a common souldiours jacket..; to the end, that the enemies might not take marke of the Generall himselfe.
1602 B. Jonson Poetaster ii. i. sig. C3 Let me intreate you for all the Ladies behauiors, Iewels, Iestes, and Attyres, that you marking as well as I, we may put both our markes togither, when they are gone, and confer of them.
1671 Sir C. Lyttelton in E. M. Thompson Corr. Family of Hatton (1878) I. 70 One marke they take of it is employing Sr George Downing embassador thither.
1823 W. Scott Peveril I. viii. 224 Little matter worthy of mark occurred.
1933 Jrnl. Philos. 30 515 Especially worthy of mark are the sections on knowledge and reality.
1987 Summary of World Broadcasts Pt. 3: Far East (B.B.C.) 6 Oct. FE/8691/A3/1 It is said that Deng Xiaoping said something at a session of the CCP Political Bureau, and one of his statements is worthy of mark.
39. of (great, little, etc.) mark: noteworthy, important. Chiefly as postmodifier; rarely in predicative use. [Compare Middle French homme de marque (1585); the sense is ‘a person who bears the signs of honour or authority.’]
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > worthy of notice
specialc1405
eminentc1420
markablec1449
noteworthy1552
regardable1572
respectable1584
of —— observation1587
considerable1589
of (great, little, etc.) mark1590
signal1591
remarkable1593
conspicuous1604
noble1604
observative1608
observable1609
significant1642
noteful1644
signalized1652
tall1655
curious1682
notice-worthy1713
unco1724
noticeable1793
handsome1813
epoch-forming1816
measurable1839
epochal1857
epoch-making1863
era-making1894
epoch-marking1895
high profile1950
landmark1959
1590 ‘Pasquil’ First Pt. Pasquils Apol. sig. B2 The wisedome of the land..compared our Nobilitie and men of marke, to the flowers that stand about the Princes Crowne.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. ii. 45 A fellow of no marke nor likelihoode. View more context for this quotation
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxvi. xxxiii. 609 They were of greater marke and calling than the rest.
1614 D. Dyke Myst. Selfe-deceiuing xxviii. 343 They greeue at those good works of others, if of any marke, wherein they haue had no hand themselues.
1622 S. Ward Christ All in All (1627) 8 This whole Vniverse,..and all the things of mark and vse in it,..but for him should not have been.
1647 T. May Hist. Parl. Pref. sig. A4v Sufferings of..so high a marke.
1791 E. Burke Appeal New to Old Whigs 95 These are the notions which..several persons, and among them persons of no mean mark, have associated themselves to propagate.
1863 H. W. Longfellow Musician's Tale ix. ii, in Tales Wayside Inn 106 A learned clerk, A man of mark.
1879 J. McCarthy Hist. our Own Times II. xxix. 399 He still held a place of great mark in literature.
1885 Mag. Art Sept. 450/1 Granada was a place of little mark as compared with Cordova.
1919 J. Conrad Arrow of Gold ii. ii. 63 He talked first about a certain politician of mark.
1957 ‘R. West’ Fountain Overflows ii. 44 For this French tutor was a man of mark, member of a gentlemanly Belgian family.
40. regional and colloquial.
†a. a mark at: a person with a great talent for (something). Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
1881 Punch 3 Dec. 263/2 Till my chummy Scholard Mike, who's a mark at A.B.C., Read me Littler's little tale.
b. a mark on: a person with a great appetite or proclivity for (something).
ΚΠ
1883 M. E. Braddon Golden Calf xxv. 274 Vernon was what Rogers the butler called ‘a mark on’ strawberries and cream.
1895 M. Downe Essex Ballads 31 A mark on swearin? Ah, sir, that he be.
1904 E. Nesbit Phoenix & Carpet (1949) viii. 229 I've got a pal—'e's a mark on cats..if he thinks they'd fetch anything..I don't mind doing you a kindness.
†IX. Other senses (of uncertain relation to other branches).
41. Scottish. Each of a series of stones or clusters of stones placed at intervals in a jewelled chain. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1573 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1878) 1st Ser. II. 247 Ane chayn of rubeis with twelf markes of dyamontis and rubeis, and ane mark with twa rubeis.
42. Perhaps: a bundle or packet of definite size. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1582 Rates Custome House (new ed.) sig. Eiij v Sheres for Sempsters the mark contayning two dosen.

Compounds

† mark arrow n. Obsolete an arrow used only for target practice.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > competitive shooting > archery > [noun] > target arrow
mark arrow1394
flight1464
buttbolt1467
prick-shaft1538
forehand (shaft)1545
prick-arrow1547
rover1601
flight-shaft1609
flight-arrow1801
1394 in M. T. Löfvenberg Contrib. Middle Eng. Lexicogr. & Etymol. (1946) 56 (MED) [One sheaf of] merkarwes.
1527 Lancs. & Cheshire Wills (1854) 31 I will that the said Percyvall..have..the half of my marke aroys.
mark boat n. a boat moored at a particular spot to serve as a navigational guide.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > buoys, marks, or lighthouses > [noun] > object on land or sea as guide > boat as
mark boat1860
mark-vessel1884
1860 ‘Vanderdecken’ Yarns 112 See that the mark-boats are placed in accordance with the instructions.
1879 Daily News 7 Apr. 3/2 They paddled below the mark-boats, and drifted up with the tide.
1894 Outing 24 36/1 We were still fully two miles from the mark-boat.
1915 E. Œ. Somerville & ‘M. Ross’ In Mr Knox's Country vii. 195 After the third race I had to give up and put five stitches in one of the men that was in the mark-boat.
1976 Yachts & Yachting 20 Aug. 369/1 On the first day a race was abandoned..because one safety boat was unserviceable (despite the presence of mark boats and spectator boats which could have doubled as safety boats in an emergency).
mark-book n. (in a school) a book for recording marks obtained by students.
ΚΠ
1864 H. W. Dulcken tr. H. C. Andersen Fairy Tales & Stories 210 He always asked first—‘How stands it with the mark-book?’..and then each one had to show him the book.
1900 Westm. Gaz. 28 June 2/1 My mark-book with its blank column for disorder-marks against her name was a striking contrast to those of the other mistresses.
1914 ‘I. Hay’ Lighter Side School Life iv. 111 He starts a private mark-book of his own, to check possible carelessness or dishonesty on the part of his form-master.
mark community n. Germanic History a community inhabiting a mark (sense 3); also in extended use.
ΚΠ
1874 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. (1875) I. v. 85 It is as an owner of land, not as a member of the mark-community, that the freeman has rights.
1951 Speculum 26 250 Several villages..were united into ‘mark communities’ or zhupas.
mark degree n. see sense 14c.
† mark-feast n. Obsolete a school feast provided at the end of the half-year from fines imposed for holding the ‘mark’ (sense 12e).
ΚΠ
1832 M. R. Mitford Our Village V. 200 Readily would the whole company have foregone all the luxuries of the mark-feast.
mark-getter n. a student who obtains high marks.
ΚΠ
?c1860 W. Cory Lett. & Jrnls. (1897) 571 A good ‘examination boy’, or mark-getter.
1869 Edinb. Rev. Oct. 554 The highest mark-getters generally turn out well.
mark lodge n. see sense 14c.
† mark-maker n. Obsolete a designer or manufacturer of stamp marks.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > producer > makers of other articles > [noun] > of tools > of specific tools or equipment
card maker1345
last-maker1395
anvilsmith1747
plane-maker1757
mark-maker1797
jack maker1858
toother?1881
broach-river1924
1797 J. Robinson Directory of Sheffield 56 Cartwright, George, mark-maker, and penknife cutler.
1883 Kelly's Sheffield Directory 194 Ashmore, Cornelius, mark maker and letter cutter.
mark mason n. see sense 14c.
mark master mason n. see sense 14c.
† mark-mere n. (in form marckmear) Obsolete rare a boundary (see mere n.2 1a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > boundary > [noun] > land-boundary
thresholdeOE
randeOE
markeOE
mereOE
limiting1391
march1402
confrontc1430
bourne1523
limity1523
mereing1565
mark-mere1582
ring1598
land-mere1603
limit1655
field boundary1812
landimere1825
section-line1827
wad1869
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis i. 10 Thow seest large Affrick, thee Moores, and Towne of Agenor, Thee Libye land marckmears [L. fines Libyci].
mark sheet n. a sheet of paper recording marks obtained by a student, etc.
ΚΠ
1961 Oxf. Local Exam. (Latin, Paper 1) p. 3 The total mark..is to be halved before it is entered on the marksheet.
1964 Oxf. Mag. 12 Mar. 254/1 Now that the dust has settled on the marksheets of the January Part II examination.
1998 Patchwork & Quilting Aug. 35/2 Anyone who entered a quilt in the show can receive a copy of their mark sheet by sending an SAE.
† mark shot n. Obsolete the distance between the butts at the two ends of an archery range.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > competitive shooting > archery > [noun] > distance to target
mark shot?c1350
butt shotc1500
length1545
prickshot1548
?c1350 Ballad Sc. Wars 31 in A. Brandl & O. Zippel Mitteleng. Sprach- u. Literaturproben (1917) 137 (MED) Ay stan he tok op..And castid forth..Ay merk-scot of large way.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xii. 33 Schir Henry of Bowme..Com on a steid, a merk-schot neir Befor all othir that thair wer.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 287 (MED) Thei were putte bakke the space of a mark shote.
mark–space n. attributive designating an electronic communication system in which information is conveyed by the intermittent presence and absence of a signal (see sense 19b).
ΚΠ
1953 Electronics July 183/2 Mark–Space Phototubes.
1958 P. E. K. Donaldson et al. Electronic Apparatus for Biol. Res. xv. 234 The circuit performs oscillations with a mark–space ratio of approximately unity, the waveforms having the form of Figure 15.14.
1969 J. J. Sparkes Transistor Switching iii. 52 A circuit capable of producing rectangular waves with very sharp rising and falling edges, at mark–space ratios of between 1:1 and 500:1,..is shown.
1992 RS Components: Electronic & Electr. Products July 1209/3 A high performance function generator..having d.c. offset and variable mark–space facilities.
marks paper n. a paper for recording students' or other merit marks.
ΚΠ
1880 L. S. Floyer Plain Hints Examiners Needlework 13 This should always have a special column in the marks-paper.
† mark's point n. Obsolete the bullseye of a target (figurative in quot.).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > competitive shooting > [noun] > mark or target > bull's-eye
pricka1382
mark's point1558
mark-white1596
bull's-eye1833
1558 Q. Kennedy Compendius Tractiue i. sig. Bv In ye vnderstandyng of this: consistis the heale purpose, & markis poynt quhilk we schute at.
mark system n. (in a prison) a system for maintaining discipline by recording marks for good or bad conduct, on the basis of which privileges, parole, etc., may be awarded or withdrawn.
ΚΠ
1862 J. Backhouse & C. Tylor Life & Labours G. W. Walker 272 The experiments which were made on Norfolk Island and elsewhere, of the Mark System..were considered by some to be unsuccessful.
1885 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 754/2 He devised an ingenious system of recording the convicts' daily industry by marks... The mark system had already been tried with good results in Ireland.
† mark-tooth n. Obsolete rare a horse's incisor tooth bearing a mark (sense 20a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > body or parts of horse > [noun] > mouth or type of > teeth > incisor(s)
nipper1621
mark-tooth1626
pincer1658
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §754 At foure yeares old there commeth the Mark-Tooth,..at eight yeares old, the Tooth is smooth,..and then they say; That the Marke is out of the Horses Mouth.
mark-vessel n. rare = mark boat n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > buoys, marks, or lighthouses > [noun] > object on land or sea as guide > boat as
mark boat1860
mark-vessel1884
1884 World 20 Aug. 22/2 The Royal London Yacht Club had..a mark-vessel off Lymington.
† mark-white n. Obsolete rare = mark's point n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > competitive shooting > [noun] > mark or target > bull's-eye
pricka1382
mark's point1558
mark-white1596
bull's-eye1833
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. v. sig. Q5 At the markewhite of his hart she roued. View more context for this quotation
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2000; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

markn.2

Brit. /mɑːk/, U.S. /mɑrk/
Inflections: Plural marks, (regional) unchanged.
Forms: Old English mearc, Old English–Middle English 1700s– marc, Middle English–1600s marcke, Middle English–1600s marke, Middle English– mark; Scottish pre-1700 mairk, pre-1700 marc, pre-1700 march, pre-1700 marke, pre-1700 merke, pre-1700 1700s– mark, pre-1700 1700s– merk, pre-1700 1700s merck, 1700s mercke.
Origin: A borrowing from early Scandinavian.
Etymology: < early Scandinavian (compare Old Icelandic mǫrk a weight of eight ounces, eight ounces of silver or gold (Icelandic mörk ), Norn (Shetland) merke (plural), Swedish mark , Danish mark , and as a loanword Finnish markka markka n.); cognate with Old Frisian merk a monetary unit, eight ounces, Middle Dutch marc , maerc , merc a weight for gold or silver, a variable unit of account (Dutch mark ), Old Saxon mark a monetary unit (Middle Low German mark ), Middle High German marc , marke eight ounces of silver (German Mark ), all ultimately < the same Germanic base as mark n.1, the development of sense being ‘impressed sign; stamped ingot; silver ingot of regulated weight; half-pound of silver’. Post-classical Latin marca, marcha, marha, marcus (9th cent. onwards, frequently in northern European sources) is a loan < Germanic, and has several derivatives, e.g. Spanish marco (masculine; 1026), marca (feminine; 1120), Old French marc (masculine; c1090; earliest in Anglo-Norman sources), Old Occitan marc (masculine; 12–13th cent.), Italian marco (masculine; 14th cent.; probably via French), marca (feminine; 14th cent.).The word was borrowed into Old English after the southern breaking of æ to ea before rc (compare mark n.1); occasional spellings as mearc are the result of sound substitution. The early Scandinavian etymon is strong feminine, as are the Old Frisian, Old Saxon, and Middle High German forms, whereas the Old English form is neuter, perhaps influenced by an early Scandinavian neuter form (compare Old Icelandic mark : see mark n.1); although compare the Middle Dutch forms, which occur as masculine, feminine, or neuter. A number of Romance forms are masculine, perhaps through the apprehension of a Germanic strong feminine base form in -a as neuter plural, with consequent assigning of the loan to the masculine gender after loss of neuter as a gender in Romance languages. There is no evidence to support the earlier theory of derivation of the Germanic word from Latin. Formerly used without change in the plural (reflecting both the Old English unchanged neuter nominative and accusative plural and the genitive plural in -a ; although occasionally found with masculine plural -as even in Old English). The unchanged plural was long retained, especially in Scotland, following a cardinal number, a common feature of words denoting units of measurement (compare foot n. 6a, pound n.1). In later use in form marc after French or other foreign orthography.
1. A measure of weight, chiefly for gold and silver, formerly used throughout western Europe and usually representing 8 ounces (i.e. half a 16-ounce pound or two-thirds of a 12-ounce pound, approx. 226.8 grams). (Sometimes preferred to the pound as a unit of measurement for large amounts of gold and silver.)
†a. As an English or Scottish weight, or without reference to locality. Obsolete.It is uncertain in some cases, when applied to quantities of gold, whether this term represents a measure of weight or a monetary unit (cf. sense 2).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > [noun] > unit or denomination of weight > other disused units
markOE
peisea1382
straw1540
scruple1656
OE Charter: Abp. Æðelnoð to Christ Church (Sawyer 1389) in A. J. Robertson Anglo-Saxon Charters (1956) 174 Ic Æþelnoð Christes cyrcean arcebiscop gebohte þæt land æt Godmæresham æt Sirede eorle mid twam & hundseofontigan marcan hwites seolfres be gewihte.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 11173 Ich wulle..seouen þusend punde..senden..to þine londe & sixti mark of golde.
1438 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 111 Euery cuppe weynge a mark & a half of Troye.
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 189 b/1 He departed emonge them a marcke of golde.
1505 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1900) II. 244 Quhilk weyit lv mark, and ilk mark contenand viij unce of gold.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 243/1 Marke of golde or silver, marc.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 11724 To the grekes bus us gyffe..Twenty thowsaund..Markes full mighty, all of mayn gold, And of Syluer.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 735 A hundreth Markes of siluer made in Plate, whereof euery Marke is .viii. ounces sterlyng.
1646 Edinb. Test. LXII. f. 271, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (at cited word) Half a mark of brase clinkards estimat all to [13s. 4d.].
1703 M. Martin Descr. W. Islands Scotl. 361 The least quantity they call a Merk, which is eighteen Ounces.
b. Orkney and Shetland. A unit of measure of various commodities, equivalent to 1/ 24 of a lispound (lispound n.) or setting (setting n.2). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > [noun] > unit or denomination of weight > units in Orkney and Shetland
meil1536
lispound1545
mark1577
setting1577
1577 in D. Balfour Oppress. 16th Cent. Orkney & Zetland (1859) 41 Lykwyiss the merk of copper of auld was sauld for twa schillingis of wairis, and now thai tak four schillingis thairfor.
1633 Orkney Witch Trial in P. H. Brown Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1904) 2nd Ser. V. 546 Quhen schoo kirnit the milk scho got ix markis butter.
1702 in W. R. Mackintosh Glimpses of Kirkwall (1887) 42 That none of the flesshers exact any more than twentie pennies Scots for the merk of unrynded tallow.
1884 R. M. Fergusson Rambles 171 Gudewife, gae to your butter-ark An' fetch us here ten bismar mark.
c. Any of various units of weight in continental western European countries.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > [noun] > unit or denomination of weight > units for other specific commodities
mount1532
pint1599
stand1675
stand1729
mark1731
draught1859
tex1953
1731 Gentleman's Mag. 1 112 Fine silver at 24 [Dutch] Guilders 2 Stivers Banco per Mark fine.
1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations II. iv. vi. 140 In France this mark of standard gold is coined into thirty Louis d'ors of twenty-four livres each. View more context for this quotation
1811 P. Kelly Universal Cambist I. 96 480 Marks Cologne weight = 451 Ounces English Troy.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVII. 11/1 In silver and copper mining the marc (8 ounces) is commonly used to express the richness of the metal [in Chile].
2. A monetary unit used in accounts and for determining the value of gold and silver coins and bullion, originally based on the value of a mark weight of pure silver. See also mark, shilling, etc. of sterlings at sterling n.1 1a.
†a. In England: a monetary unit equivalent in value to two-thirds of a troy pound of pure silver or two-thirds of a pound sterling. Cf. half mark n. Obsolete.The mark continued in use throughout the Early Modern period, latterly esp. in fines (see quot. 1771). The use in quot. 1712 is probably intended to convey an old-fashioned manner of speech.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > standards and values of currencies > [noun] > specific monetary units or units of account > specific English
shillingc900
poundOE
markOE
half-marka1056
Mk.1642
heartsease1665
OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.i) anno 1040 He [sc. Harðacnut]..astealde þa swiðe strang gyld þæt man hit uneaðe acom; þæt wæs viii marc æt ha[melan].
?c1250 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Egerton) 296 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 177 (MED) Ne sculle hi neure comen vp for marke ne for punde.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 8084 (MED) He..borewede þer uppe of him an hondred þousend marc.
c1390 G. Chaucer Pardoner's Tale 390 By this gaude have I wonne yeer by yeer An hundred mark sith I was pardoner.
a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 1224 Vj marc yeerly, to scars is to sustene The charges þat I haue.
c1450 (a1375) Octavian (Calig.) (1979) 889 That wyf hym taught markes and poundes.
a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Di In my purse was twenty marke.
a1529 J. Skelton Colyn Cloute (?1545) sig. C.ii His benefyce worthe ten pounde Or skante worth twenty marke.
1573 Record's Ground of Arts (rev. ed.) i. i. sig. N.iiijv Poundes, Markes, and shillinges, whiche though they haue no coynes, yet is there no name more in vse then they.
1607 J. Norden Surueyors Dialogue iv. 173 Thirteene shillings and foure pence, or a Marke of money.
1652 New Plymouth Colony Rec. (1855) III. 12 Leiftenant Samuell Nash..is to haue for his wages 20 marke p. annum.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 269. ¶5 I..have deposited with him thirty Marks, to be distributed among his poor Parishioners.
1771 Gentleman's Mag. 41 82 On the 28th of November 1770, the defendant was brought up for judgment... The judgment of the Court was, to pay ten marks (i.e. 6l. 13s. 4d.) to the King.
1892 Ld. Tennyson Foresters iv. 241 ‘Here be one thousand marks.’.. ‘Ay, ay, but there is use, four hundred marks.’
b. In Scotland: a monetary unit corresponding to the English mark, but of a lower value following devaluation of Scottish currency in the 14th cent. Now historical (or archaic in Scots Law). [In quot. 1480 probably after Middle Dutch mark markgelīke or Middle Low German mark marklīk ; for the syntax see like adj., adv., conj., and prep. Phrases 4.]
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > Scottish coins > [noun] > silver coins
mark1379
noble1417
yokindale1536
Douglas groat1554
James Royal1567
leg1687
fourteen-shilling piece1695
thirteen-pence-halfpenny piece1723
spurred groata1773
sword dollar1825
1379 in J. Slater Early Scots Texts (Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Edinb.) (1952) No. 2 All my rycht clame..to fourty markis worth of land.
1396 in Sc. Antiquary (1900) 14 218 xix marcis of vsuale moneth of Scotland.
1440 in J. Cooper Cartularium Eccl. St. Nicholai Aberdonensis (1888) I. 10 For sevyn score of markis.
1480 in Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1839) I. 71/2 Þat the saidis macolme & Arthure sall pay in like proporcioune of þe said annuel, efferand to þe part of þe land þat ather of þaim has, mark mark lyke, comptand be þe ald extent.
1482 in C. Innes Bk. Thanes Cawdor (1859) 66 Fyw hundreth merkis of the usualle money of Scotlande.
1514 in J. S. Clouston Rec. Earldom of Orkney (1914) 88 Four markis usuale mone of Scotlaund.
a1614 J. Melville Autobiogr. & Diary (1842) 8 A thowsand mark betters cheape.
a1649 W. Drummond Wks. (1711) 187 Under the Pain of Ten Merks.
1710 Agreement in H. Rose & L. Shaw Geneal. Deduction Family Rose of Kilravock (1848) 401 Ane contract of wodseate..seting and resing the tenents at tuo thusand merk per chalder of free rent.
1858 M. Porteous To Burns in Real Souter Johnny 33 'Twill cost some fowks twal hunner merk, Or aiblins near.
1896 S. R. Crockett Grey Man 119 Whose keen care for the merks, the duties, and the tacks.
1929 Encycl. Laws Scotl. VIII. 523 Where a juror fails to answer his citation in a criminal cause, and no sufficient excuse is offered, he is fined one hundred merks Scots (£5.11.1⅓d).
1997 J. Bauldreay Eng. Mark 29 Apparently Justices of the Peace were also levying fines in merks in the early 1700s.
†c. Any of various monetary units in continental European countries, varying in weight normally within the range of about 230 to 280 grams of silver, and differing in value from place to place. Obsolete.Often known by a name referring to its place of origin, as mark banco (Hamburg: see banco n.1 and adj.1), mark Lubs (also Lubish) (Lubeck: see Lubish adj. 1a), etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > standards and values of currencies > [noun] > specific monetary units or units of account > other spec.
markc1475
bar1732
rix-dollar1803
Canadian dollar1841
centime1842
pound1857
cent1871
commodity dollar1891
credit1893
shilling1921
centime1942
larin1978
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > foreign coins > [noun] > other European
groata1387
markc1475
Philip?1482
caroline1555
sol1583
gross1638
obolus1761
tenpenny1822
ECU1970
c1475 (?c1451) Bk. Noblesse (Royal) (1860) 32 Lifelode of londes and tenementis yoven in the counte of Mayne to the yerely valeu of .x.Ml. marcs yerely, whiche was .lx.Ml.li. Turneis.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. xiv. 14 The kyng..dyd gyue hym cccc. markis.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. xiv. 14 The kyng..dyd gyue to Philip of Chastaulxe, his chef esquyer,..C. marke of rent yerely.
1589–1600 Acct. Bk. W. Morton f. 64 Lent him ane mark denis.
1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea II. xlii. 279 They [sc. Hamburg traders] keep their accounts in marks and schillings, 16 schillings to a mark.
d. The former standard monetary unit of Germany, equal to 100 pfennig. Now historical.The German mark was instituted as standard in all parts of Imperial Germany in 1872, and had different designations in various periods: see Ostmark n., Rentenmark n., Reichsmark n., Deutschmark n. It was replaced by the euro (Euro n.2 1a) in January 1999, and ceased to be legal tender in Germany after 28 February 2002 with the introduction of the euro coins and banknotes.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > standards and values of currencies > [noun] > specific monetary units or units of account > specific German or Austrian
groschen1617
shock1617
schilling1753
Reichsmark1872
mark1883
Rentenmark1923
Westmark1947
Deutschmark1948
Ostmark1948
1883 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 732 (note) The substitution of the mark for the older thaler came into force [in Germany] 1st January 1875.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 289/2 The first reform in the coinage of the German Empire occurred in 1871, when the new gold money was introduced, which had for its unit the silver mark (a money of account) of 100 pfennigs.
1911 E. Sykes Banking & Currency (ed. 3) viii. 61 The Imperial Bank of Germany can issue notes to the value of 550,000,000 marks against the deposit of securities.
1933 E. Roll Spotlight on Germany i. 39 The function of the mark as a medium of exchange had disappeared almost as completely as its ability to form a standard of value.
1964 M. McLuhan Understanding Media (1967) ii. xiv. 156 The depreciation of the citizen went along with that of the German mark.
1993 Business Week 25 Oct. 60/3 The court in effect said that such controversial issues as giving up the German mark for a Eurocurrency would have to be put before Parliament—which might well reject them.
e. More fully convertible mark. The principal monetary unit of Bosnia and Herzegovina, consisting of 100 fenings; = marka n.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > standards and values of currencies > [noun] > specific monetary units or units of account > other specific European
shilling great1474
cent1816
grano1858
dinar1882
para1885
single European currency1950
Euro1971
EUR1996
mark1997
1997 Associated Press Worldstream (Nexis) 15 Apr. The currency will be called the convertible mark, and should be printed within 100 days. He said both the coupon and the German mark would be valid currency.
1997 Guardian 13 Aug. 18/4 While the new Bosnian mark ekes out a lonely electronic existence within the wired bits of Bosnia's banking system, Bosnians face a choice of currencies to use on the street.
2006 N.Y. Times 5 Feb. v. 10/2 Bosnia, still mostly a cash economy, even in Sarajevo, uses the convertible mark (KM), but euros can often be used.
3. Scottish (chiefly Orkney and Shetland). [Compare Faroese mørk, Norwegian mark unit of land.] A division or unit of land having the annual rentable value of one mark (sense 2b), and divisible into eight ures (see ure n.4). Cf. markland n. 2. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of area > [noun] > a system or process of measuring land > other units of land measure
wandalec1150
wista1200
landc1400
ridge1439
peck1442
scrophec1450
buttc1460
rig1485
mark1488
stick1531
farthingdeal1543
plough-gang1548
quarterland1563
ploughgate1565
last1576
wand1596
ox-skin1610
garbred1621
plank1631
nooka1634
buttal1635
farthinga1640
rick1641
familia1676
rhandir1688
setiera1690
worthine1701
fierding1768
whip-land1811
rai1933
1329 in J. S. Clouston Rec. Earldom of Orkney (1914) 12 Item j Klæte tolf mærkr.]
1488 in J. S. Clouston Rec. Earldom of Orkney (1914) 197 Four merkis of land.
1520 in J. S. Clouston Rec. Earldom of Orkney (1914) 204 Ane mark of laund in Burness..for full laundis prise.
1581 in Proc. Soc. Antiquaries Scotl. 16 201 Four ures land in Litilholm in Quhalsay Sound..all six pennies the mark.
1628 in G. Goudie Celtic & Scand. Antiq. Shetland (1904) 178 Aught uris of land makis ane merk of land.
a1714 Earl of Cromarty Hist. Family Mackenzie in W. Fraser Earls of Cromartie (1876) II. 490 In this chartor all his lands, viz., the 40 merks land of Kintaill, 4 merk of Killin, 4 merk of Garrive..are all vnited to the barrony of Kintaill, and designed the barrony of Illandonan.
1774 G. Gifford in G. Low Orkney (1879) 145 The term Pennyland..in Schetland..marks the quality, and according to the value of the land, every Mark contains more or fewer Pennies.
1793 J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. V. 195 (note) In some instances, a merk may be less than an acre; in others, perhaps, equal to two acres.
1884 Scotsman 26 July 3/1 (Shetland Advt.) Three Merks, One Ure and One-Third of an Ure of Land.
1979 J. J. Graham Shetland Dict. 52 Merk, unit of land initially having the annual value of one mark, 13s 4d sterling. The area depended on quality of land and could vary from less than an acre to several acres.
1987 J. J. Graham Shadowed Valley xiv. 95 The 82 merks of your land went for five hundred and seventy-five pounds.
4. As the denomination of a coin.
a. Any of various continental European silver and base metal coins equal in value to the mark unit of their place of origin. In modern use chiefly: spec. a coin issued in Germany from 1873, originally silver and after 1927 of base metal, representing the former standard unit of German currency (see sense 2d). Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > foreign coins > [noun] > German or Prussian coins
hellera1549
kreutzera1549
morkina1549
pfenniga1549
dollar1553
batz1568
fennin1611
groschen1617
mariengroschen1617
mark1727
schilling1753
thaler1787
Joachimsthaler1831
tail-ducat1864
krone1871
1727–52 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Mark is a copper-coin in Sweden, equal to two-pence farthing sterling.
1839 Penny Cycl. XV. 324/2 Mark, a silver coin in Hamburg... The mark is worth 1s. 2¾d.
1910 Encycl. Brit. X. 384/2 Telephones have an enormous extension..between the different towns of southern Finland; the cost of the yearly subscription varies from 40 to 60 marks.
1947 A. R. Frey Dict. Numismatic Names 145/1 A Mark was issued in Livonia in 1573 for payment of the garrison of Pernau.
1962 R. A. G. Carson Coins 374 The 5 mark had head of Hindenburg and eagle, the mark and its half an eagle and value.
1987 A. Room Dict. Coin Names 133 Mark,..The first coin of the name was one struck in Lübeck in 1506... It was first struck as a silver piece in Germany as a standard denomination worth 100 pfennigs in 1873.
b. A Scottish coin equal in value to the Scottish mark unit (13s. 4d. Scots), used from 1572 until 1675. Now historical.The mark issued by James VI between 1601–4, known from its design as the thistle mark (see thistle n. Compounds 2a) was also current in England with a value of 13⅓d. No coin of the value of a mark was ever issued in England itself, although there were gold coins equivalent in value to the half-mark (6s. 8d.), in the form of the noble (1344–1464), the angel (1464–1526; subsequently of various different values), and the George noble (1526).Silver half-mark and two-mark pieces were also issued in Scotland.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > Scottish coins > [noun] > other Scottish coins
sterling1387
plack1473
sture1493
stick1494
bawbee1542
hardhead1559
nonsunt1559
liona1572
atchison1600
turner1631
turnover1640
bodle1650
forty penny piece1681
rigmariea1682
cross-daggera1690
mark1762
1762 Caledonian Mercury 10 May in Sc. National Dict. (at cited word) A great quantity of silver merks, and fourteen pence pieces were discovered among the rubbish, rolled up in old stockings.
1894 S. R. Crockett Raiders xliv. 374 Here's a silver merk, for the King's arles.
1967 Dict. Older Sc. Tongue xxii. 109/1 The coinage of marks ordered in 1570–1..was appar. never issued.

Compounds

C1. General attributive.
a. Designating a weight or weight unit based on the standard weight of a mark, as mark pound, mark weight. Now historical.
ΚΠ
a1500 Tracts Eng. Weights & Meas. 18 in Camden Misc. (1929) XV xvj marke li. make a lyse li.]
1554 J. Hasse Coines, Weights & Meas. Russia in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1903) ii. 275 The marke pound is to be understood as our pound.
1576–7 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1878) 1st Ser. II. 601 Deduceing onelie for his panis sex schillingis for the merk wecht.
1629 in R. W. Cochran-Patrick Rec. Coinage Scotl. (1876) II. 18 Sax score and eight of the saids twa pennie peeces to be in the marke weight with three of the peeces of remeid.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Mark-weight, a foreign weight commonly of 8 Ounces; and Mark-Pound is two such Marks, or 16 Ounces.
1902 D. Macleane Coronation 123 [The oblation of] a ‘Purse of Gold’ was, until Victoria, ‘a Mark weight of gold’—i.e. 8 ounces troy.
1979 Jrnl. Hist. Ideas 40 306 To prevent the ambiguity between the coin and weight from causing confusion..the half-pound will indicate the mark weight.
b. Of or relating to the German monetary unit (sense 2d).
ΚΠ
1894 N.E.D. at Exchange sb. I lost a good deal by the exchange of some 20-mark pieces that I brought home.
1908 Daily Chron. 4 Aug. 1/2 The Kaiser..rewarded him with a twenty mark piece.
1932 J. W. Angell Recovery of Germany (rev. ed.) ii. 19 Mark prices fell... In..1921..two things happened which definitely sealed the fate of the old mark currency.
1974 New Society 21 Feb. 435/2 The Hitler stuff, together with the usual illustrations of inflated multimillion mark notes..looks more like what is inelegantly called ‘Kraut-bashing’.
1993 Amer. Econ. Rev. 83 1362/2 ‘Cumulative’ intervention..measures the relative stock supplies of outside assets denominated in dollar and mark currencies.
C2.
† mark-piece n. Scottish Obsolete a silver coin of the value of one Scottish mark (see sense 2b).
ΚΠ
1570–1 in D. Masson Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1898) 1st Ser. XIV. 89 Ane silver penny to have course and passage for xiijs. iiijd. of this realme, to be callit the merk peice, and the half of the same for vjs. viiid., to be callit the halff merk peice.
1672 Processes Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court No. 59 Mair I aclam a mark peice for the price of ane ashethre.
1695 Act 25 July in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (1967) IV. 109/2 Act anent the half ducatdouns and old Scots merk-pieces.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

† markn.3

Origin: Probably a borrowing from German. Etymon: German Mark.
Etymology: Probably < German Mark, specific application (frequently in 19th cent.) of Mark mark n.2
Quadrille. Obsolete.
The token or counter put down by the dealer. Cf. fish n.3
ΚΠ
1850 H. G. Bohn et al. Hand-bk. Games 227 Mark, means the fish put down by the dealer.
1876 ‘Capt. Crawley’ Card Player's Man. 196 Mark means the fish put down by the dealer.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2000; most recently modified version published online December 2018).

markv.

Brit. /mɑːk/, U.S. /mɑrk/
Forms: Old English mearcian, Old English mearkian, Old English mærcian (Anglian), Old English merciga (Northumbrian), early Middle English mærcien, early Middle English marki, early Middle English markian, early Middle English mearke, early Middle English merki, Middle English marc, Middle English merke, Middle English merkke, Middle English mirk, Middle English–1500s merk, Middle English–1600s marke, Middle English– mark, 1500s merck, 1500s–1600s marck, 1500s–1600s marcke; Scottish pre-1700 marc, pre-1700 marck, pre-1700 marke, pre-1700 marque, pre-1700 merc, pre-1700 mirk, pre-1700 1700s– mark, pre-1700 1700s– merk; also Middle English morkyn (past participle) (Norfolk).
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian merkia to notice, Middle Dutch marken to put a mark on, notice, Old Saxon markon to design, destine (also gimarkon to direct, command, discern), Old High German marchōn to limit, determine (German marken to put a mark on (now rare), German regional (Tyrol) marchen to set up a markstone), Old Icelandic marka to draw the outline of, put a mark on, observe, heed, Old Swedish marka (Swedish regional marka ) to put a mark on < a Germanic verb derived from one of the bases of mark n.1 Some senses of the English verb are probably directly from corresponding senses of the noun; sense 29 is perhaps reinforced by Old French marchier march v.2In Old English the prefixed form gemearcian is also common. Another verb formed from the same Germanic base is represented by Old Frisian merka to observe, notice, Middle Dutch merken , maerken to put a mark on, observe, notice, perceive (Dutch merken ), Old Saxon merkian (Middle Low German merken ), Old High German merchen , merken (Middle High German merchen , merken , German merken to notice, German regional (Austria) märken to put a mark on), Old Icelandic merkja to put a mark on, draw, observe, notice, Old Swedish mærkia (Swedish märka ), Danish mærke . Corresponding Romance verbs may be directly < Germanic verbs or from Romance nouns derived from one of the Germanic bases of mark n.1, e.g. Anglo-Norman, Old French merchier , mercher , merker (12th cent.; chiefly in Anglo-Norman, Norman, and Picard sources until the 15th cent.), Middle French, French marquer (late 14th cent.; compare such senses as ‘to record points in a game’ (1691; compare sense 19b), ‘of an instrument: to register a value’ (1694; compare sense 24)), Italian marcare (late 13th cent.), Italian regional (Naples) mercare , Old Occitan (Gascon) mercar (1358), Old Occitan merquar (1406), marquar (15th cent.), Old Occitan, Occitan mercar (1493), marcar (12th cent.), Catalan marcar (13th cent.), Catalan regional (Capcir) mercar , Spanish marcar (1488); compare also Old French marchier , marchir to trample (see march v.2). Compare also post-classical Latin marcare to mark, stamp (a commodity with a proprietary sign) (from c1114 in British sources). The 15th-cent. past participle form morkyn is by analogy with the past participles of strong verbs historically of Class III, as help v.
I. To put a mark on; to identify or characterize with or as with a mark.
1.
a. transitive. To trace out boundaries for; to plot out (ground); to set out the ground plan of (a building); (figurative) to plan out, design. See also sense 1c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > boundary > bound or form boundary of [verb (transitive)] > fix boundary of
meteeOE
markeOE
mereOE
bound1393
determinea1398
terminea1398
rede1415
measurea1513
butt1523
space1548
limit1555
determinate1563
to mark out1611
contermine1624
to run out1671
verge1759
demarcate1816
outline1817
define1843
rope1862
delimit1879
delimitate1879
eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) xxxix. 128 Ælc cræftega ðencð & mearcað his weorc on his mode ær ær he hit wyrce.
OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Deut. (Claud.) i. 33 Se eode beforan eow on wege & mearcode ða stowa ðe [L. metatus est locum, in quo] ge eowre geteld on slean sceoldon.
c1225 (?c1200) St. Margaret (Bodl.) (1934) 22 (MED) Þu steorest þe sea-strem, þet hit flede ne mot fir þen þu merkest.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 2500 (MED) He..Markede place inou & rerde þer an castel.
a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) xl. 199 Euery manes lyfe is y-markyd by kynde, how longe he shal mow doure.
1502 Protocol Bk. J. Foular (1930) I. i. 170 The new gabile is ferrar biggit northwart..be al the space merkit be the master mason..in the fore wal..than it suld be.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies iv. vi. 222 To note and marke the mine, and so much ground in circuite for him, which the Lawe graunts..those that discover any mine.
1746 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Satires i. i. 19 Some certain Mean in all things may be found, To mark our Virtues, and our Vices bound.
1844 E. B. Barrett Drama of Exile in Poems I. 4 Thou [sc. Lucifer] shalt be an Idea to all souls..whence to mark despair, And measure out the distances from good!
1941 A. Christie Evil under Sun iii. 84 William is the gardener. He keeps the paths and marks the tennis courts.
†b. transitive. poetic (frequently in alliterative phrases). To fashion or make; to conceive (an idea). Obsolete.
ΚΠ
a1400 Siege Jerusalem (Laud) (1932) 112 (MED) Þe þridde in heuen myd hem is þe holy goste, Neþer merked ne made, bot mene fram hem passyþ.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 558 (MED) Þe Soverayn in sete so sore forþoȝt Þat ever he man upon molde merked to lyvy.
c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame 1103 Yif..thow Wilt helpe me to shewe now That in myn hed ymarked ys [etc.].
c1475 (a1400) Sir Amadace (Taylor) in J. Robson Three Early Eng. Metrical Romances (1842) 50 The fayrist knyȝte, That euyr ȝette I see with syȝte, Sethen I was market mon.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 195 God, that mayde..Heuen and erth..And merkyd man to his lyknes.
a1522 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) viii. Prol. 148 Sen God merkyt man.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 4286 Hom wit lacket Of þe Godhed giffen, þat grew from the sun, Þat all mightyle made & merket of noght.
†c. transitive. To set down or place; to situate; to build on a particular site. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > placing or fact of being placed in (a) position > place or put in a position [verb (transitive)] > situate
setc950
markc1400
situate?a1425
site?c1425
plant1558
seat1603
emplacea1627
position1817
to set down1827
spot1891
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl 142 By-ȝonde þe broke..I hope þat mote merked wore.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 637 (MED) Mete messez of mylke he merkkez bytwene.
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) i. 810 Mark out thi tablis vchon bi hym selue.
c1450 (c1420) Prophecies Becket (Hatton) 68 in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1899) 102 355 (MED) Who is maister of this mote þat here til a towre is merkid [v.r. merkyt]?
2.
a. transitive. To make a mark or marks on (something) by drawing, stamping, branding, cutting, staining, etc. Also intransitive.
ΚΠ
OE Beowulf 450 Byreð blodig wæl, byrgean þenceð, eteð angenga unmurnlice, mearcað morhopu.
a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily In Die Sancto Pentecosten (Lamb. 487) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 87 God het Moyses..þet heo sculden..merki [OE Royal mearcian] mid þan blode hore duren.
c1300 St. Francis (Laud) 18 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 54 He saiȝ al-so knyȝhtes Armes þere, And with a fair creoiz þoruz-out I-markede alle huy were.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 330v Telata beþ vessels of gold ouþer of siluer y-marked wiþ euydent signe wiþinne or wiþoute.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 21698 To tuelue men taght þai wandes tuelue, Ilkan merked his him-self.
1479 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 512 There is on potte þat is morkyn ondre þe bottome ij tymes wyth thyes letteris, ‘M.P.’
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 431 b/1 He was marked or tokened on the lyppes of hym with an hote and brennyng yron.
c1490 W. Caxton Rule St. Benet (1902) 136 Yf that he can not write & marke it with his owne sygne.
c1500 Debate Carpenter's Tools in Rev. Eng. Stud. (1987) 38 457 ‘Ȝe, ȝe,’ seyd þe lyne and þe chalke,..‘I schall merke well vpone þe wode.’
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. lxxxv The byshoppes ministers are wont to marke mens foreheades with Asshes.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) iii. iii. 56 My bodie's mark'd With Roman Swords. View more context for this quotation
1682 True Protestant Mercury No. 105. 2/2 He stole a Silver Tankard, marked I. F.
1713 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 22 Feb. (1948) II. 625 Miss is recovering [from smallpox], I know not how much she will be marked.
1821 P. B. Shelley Let. 22 Feb. (1964) II. 270 Excuse my horrible pens, ink, and paper. I can get no pen that will mark.
1844 J. O. Halliwell Romance Emperor Octavian Pref. 11 In the Cambridge manuscript, now marked Ff. ii. 38, his name is spelt Octavyan.
1863 C. Dickens Uncommerc. Traveller in All Year Round 2 May 232/2 The Guard comes clambering round to mark the tickets.
1908 Daily Chron. 24 July 1/6 The long-term men, who wore blue cotton overalls marked with the broad arrows, were in the rear.
1949 Nat. Hist. Apr. 189/3 The bee hunter..will ‘stake his claim’ by marking the tree so that other hunters will know of his prior discovery.
1992 N.Y. Times 9 July c4/1 Begin by marking the area of flooring to be removed, using a framing square or a large drafting triangle.
b. transitive. Cookery. To score (dough, pastry, etc.), esp. for the purpose of dividing into individual cakes, biscuits, etc.
ΚΠ
OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Hatton) (1900) i. xi. 87 Hit gewunelic is on þære mægðe, þæt man swa mearcað mid medmicelum treowe þeorfe hlafas, þæt hi beoð gesewene, swylce hi beon on feower feorðan dælas todælede.
1747 H. Glasse Art of Cookery viii. 75 Shape your Upper-crust on a hollow Thing on purpose, the Size of your Patty, and mark it with a Marking-iron for that purpose, in what Shape you please.
1846 A. Soyer Gastron. Regenerator 512 Lay the paste upon a marble slab, roll it out into small pieces two inches long, place them on a baking-sheet, mark with a knife upon the top, and bake in a sharp oven.
1960 Good Housek. Cookery Bk. (1961) 417/2 Roll the mixture again until 1/ 8 inch thick... Trim the edges, then mark into squares or fingers.
1987 Mail on Sunday 9 Aug. (Colour Suppl.) 59 Bake..for 15–20 mins. Take out and mark into bars.
c. transitive. To brand, tattoo, or otherwise put a distinctive mark on (a person) (now rare); to put an identifying mark on (an animal), as by branding, cutting or notching the ear, etc. Later also euphemistic (chiefly U.S., Australian, and New Zealand): to dock or geld (an animal) at the same time as cutting or notching its ear.
ΚΠ
OE Laws of Cnut (Nero) ii. xxxii. 336 Gyf þeowman æt þam ordale ful weorðe, mearcie man hine æt þam forman cyrre.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 192 For in oolde tyme þey were y-merkede with dyuers fygures and shappes y-made on here flesshe and skynne wiþ yren prikkes.
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) ii. 402 (MED) Nowe is tyme..The lambis and the beestis more & lesse To marke.
a1450 in T. Wright Songs & Carols (1856) 42 (MED) Alle he [deer] wern fayr and fat inow, but markyd was ther non.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xxiiii Se that they [sc. the sheep] be well marked.
1578 Glenartney Doc. in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (1967) IV. 105/1 [Deer] to be markat and brint by our forrester.
1610 Rothiemay Kirk Session in J. Gordon Hist. Scots Affairs (1841) I. App. liii [That] the magistrat marke her with ane hot irne.
1657 in Maryland Hist. Mag. (1913) 8 133 Complaint of many [was made against someone]..for..marking calves, all of which he pretended to be his own.
1675 London Gaz. No. 1049/4 A speckled Mare..marked with a Fire-brand on the near shoulder.
a1733 Shetland Acts 8 in Proc. Soc. Antiquaries Scotl. (1892) 26 198 That none mark lambs or row sheep..but at the sight of sufficient witnesses.
1791 in 15th Rep. Commissioners Woods, Forests, & Land Revenues (1793) 40 The Cattle of the Commoners are marked by the Reeves of the respective Parishes.
1814 Niles' National Reg. 6 393 Westward of the Mississippi it is said not to be uncommon for one man to mark from one to three thousand calves in a season.
?a1880 G. L. Meredith Adventuring in Maoriland (1935) 145 These sheep are all long-tailed, and have never been marked, except on their ears.
1883 E. M. Curr Recoll. Squatting Victoria 153 Shortly after taking charge I marked two thousand lambs.
1912 Dial. Notes 3 583 Mark,..to castrate. ‘Did you mark your colt yesterday?’
1933 Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) 4 Nov. 15/7 Mark, to ear-mark. Now a frequent euphemism for cut and tail.
1941 S. J. Baker Pop. Dict. Austral. Slang 46 Mark,..to geld lambs.
1950 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Sept. 197/1 Lambs are usually marked at between 1 to 6 weeks of age; 3 weeks is probably the ideal age.
1982 Sydney Morning Herald 8 May 13/2 Killen remembered the blessed relief he felt long ago at the end of a long, hot, morning marking (castrating) a couple of thousand lambs the old way (dragging them out with your teeth).
d. transitive. To put a person's initials or other identifying mark on (clothing, linen, etc.) by means of embroidery or stitching; †to embroider (obsolete). Occasionally intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > sewing or ornamenting textile fabric > sew or ornament textile fabric [verb (transitive)] > embroider or ornament with sewing
beworkc1000
embrowdc1380
browdc1385
surfle1399
embroider14..
entailc1400
mark1415
lace1453
broider1455
broche1480
brawde1483
stitcha1529
whip1548
bebroyde1582
imphrygiate1592
purfle1601
embroche1611
be-embroider1614
acupinge1623
society > communication > indication > marking > marking to identify > be distinctive mark on [verb (transitive)] > put identifying mark on > household goods
mark1530
1415 in F. A. Page-Turner Bedfordshire Wills (1914) 26 It'm..all þe shetes and naperie lynne marked wt ‘C.J.’
c1450 (c1400) Emaré (1908) 376 She tawghte hem to sewe and marke Alle maner of sylky werke.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 633/1 All my thynges be marked with this marke.
1562 Will A. Betoun in Proc. Soc. Antiquaries Scotl. (1916–17) 51 224 xxii servietis mirkit with sylk.
1704 London Gaz. No. 3981/4 Handkerchiefs, marked with W.
1713 Rules Lambeth Girls' School in Notes & Queries (1902) 27 Sept. 256/2 They are to be taught to Read, Write, Spin, Knit and Sew & Mark.
1736 S.-Carolina Gaz. 6 Nov. 2/1 To be Sold... The Time of a white servant 5 Years and a half to come, she Sews, Marks and Quilts in the best Manner & understands Cooking well.
1859 A. Cary Pictures Country Life 13 I see..that it was marked with sampler letters in one corner.
1888 J. Payn Myst. Mirbridge II. xvii. 17 We are marking the house linen.
1890 ‘S. Tytler’ Lady Jean's Son 42 She marked their handkerchiefs.
1923 P. G. Wodehouse Let. 25 Dec. in Yours, Plum (1990) i. 34 Thanks awfully for the handkerchiefs... Mummie is having them marked, and I shall treasure them.
e. transitive. In passive. To have a natural marking or feature, esp. of a distinctive or characteristic kind (as colouring on an animal, plant, etc.). Also figurative.
ΚΠ
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 5477 His kyngdom was clene clustrit with hilles, All merkyd with mounteyns, & with mayn hylles.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Gouët, faulcon gouët, whose feathers are ill marked, mailed, or coloured..a dropt Hawke.
1676 J. Worlidge Vinetum Britannicum 159 The Marigold-Apple, (so called from its being marked in even stripes in the form of a Marigold).
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 126 The better Brood, unlike the Bastard Crew, Are mark'd with Royal streaks of shining hue. View more context for this quotation
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 59. ¶4 Cicero..was marked on the Nose with a little Wenn like a Vetch.
1781 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds I. i. 79 Starry Falcon..marked with spots resembling stars.
1855 W. S. Dallas in Syst. Nat. Hist. I. 387 The species of the genus Argynnis..are elegantly marked with silvery spots.
1872 H. A. Nicholson Man. Palæontol. 75 A short robust stem, which is marked with flutings and superficial granulations.
1901 Bulletin (Sydney) 5 Oct. 17/1 Has ‘Gumleaf’..ever seen two maggies marked alike?
1980 Daily Tel. 19 Apr. 29/1 Even those who really dislike gladioli are usually enchanted by..the acidanthera, whose white flowers are marked with maroon at the centre.
f. transitive. to mark one's place: to leave an indicator of the point up to which one has read in a book, as with a bookmark, folded page, etc.
ΚΠ
a1911 D. G. Phillips Susan Lenox (1917) I. xviii. 323 The girl closed the book, putting a chromo card in it to mark her place, and stirred about to serve the customer.
1953 A. Bester Demolished Man i. 18 Marking his place in the code book, [etc.].
1969 J. Ashbery & J. Schuyler Nest of Ninnies v. 60 Fabia carefully marked her place with a subscription blank from the Classics Club.
1990 W. Boyd Brazzaville Beach 37 I now knew somebody had been through this drawer. I kept the condoms hidden in the middle of that book, tucked in close to the spine. They weren't there to mark my place.
g. transitive. Of an animal: to deposit a pheromone-containing substance, as faeces, urine, or glandular secretions, on (an object, territory, etc.).
ΚΠ
1943 Ecol. Monogr. 13 441/2 One male [red fox] left its ‘scent’ 12 times within a quarter of a mile after leaving its bed. Dens, often well concealed with snow, were visited and marked with ‘scent’.
1955 Brit. Jrnl. Animal Behaviour 3 120/2 Our two immature loris used to mark the same preferred places within their small territory.
1974 M. W. Fox Understanding your Cat iii. 67 (caption) Head rubbing marks the person's hand with scent from the temporal gland.
1985 New Scientist 23 May 13/2 These New World monkeys (Callitrichidae) sniffed for longer at, and marked more often on, secretions from their own species.
1992 BBC Wildlife Mag. Jan. 23 Badgers..habitually deposit tiny amounts of musk, a smelly fluid secreted from a gland near the anus, to mark the home territory and individuals within that territory. It is a sort of ‘clan pong’.
†3. transitive. To make the sign of the cross upon (a person, a person's heart, forehead, etc.). Also: to invest (a person) with the sign of the cross, esp. in token of joining a crusade. Obsolete.Cf. sense 20.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > other practices > carry out other practices [verb (transitive)] > make the sign of the cross > make the sign of the cross on
saina900
blessc950
markOE
croucha1225
croise?c1225
signc1300
crossc1430
bemark1544
becross1565
OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1900) II. 264 Martinus..mearcode hine sylfne..mid rodetacn.
OE Ælfric 2nd Let. to Wulfstan (Corpus Cambr.) in B. Fehr Die Hirtenbriefe Ælfrics (1914) 148 Mid þam haligan ele ge scylan þa hæþenan cild mearcian on þam breoste..mid rode tacne.
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) 7848 (MED) Þe bedde, ne hym, ne durst þey touche, So had he marked hym with þe crouche.
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 80 (MED) Cros & mark þi harte!
a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 121 Herry [III]..was merkyd with þe tokne of þe holy crosse for to go to Jerusalem.
1898 N.E.D. at Full v.1 A convert who was deemed not sufficiently instructed for baptism, or who shrank from assuming the responsibilities which it involved, was frequently prime-signed, i.e. marked with the sign of the cross only.
†4. transitive. [Used to render classical Latin signāre.] To seal (something); (figurative) to affirm, avow, etc. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > marking > imprinting > sealing > seal [verb (transitive)]
markOE
sein1258
sign1258
asseal1297
seal1338
affix1456
embull?a1475
signet1496
consign1623
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. xxvii. 66 Munierunt sepulchrum signantes lapidem cum custodibus : gefæstnadon þæt byrgenn mercande uel gemercadon ðone stan mið haldendum.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) John iii. 33 He that hath takun his witnessing, hath markid [L. signavit] that God is sothfast.
5. figurative.
a. transitive. To designate as if with a mark; to choose or destine (for, †to, or with to and infinitive); to characterize. Also with complement: †to designate (someone) as being (something) (obsolete). See also to mark out 1 at Phrasal verbs.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > types of choice > choose in specific way [verb (transitive)] > select from a number or for a purpose
markOE
to choose out1297
out-trya1325
cullc1330
welec1330
try1340
walea1350
coil1399
drawa1400
to mark outa1450
electa1513
sorta1535
prick1536
exempta1538
select1567
sort1597
to gather out1611
single1629
delibate1660
to cut out1667
outlooka1687
draught1714
draft1724
to tell off1727
OE Genesis B 459 Þa him to gingran self metod mancynnes mearcode selfa.
c1400 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. xi. 261 I was markid [v.rr. merkyd, mad]..& myn name entrid In þe legende of lif longe er I were.
a1450 York Myst. 135 (MED) Þou marc us þi men and make vs in mynde.
1566 R. Clough in J. W. Burgon Life & Times Sir T. Gresham (1839) II. 168 Some that were his friends bade hym gett hym awaye for that he was markyd: wheruppon he went home, and went to his bed.
a1593 C. Marlowe Edward II (1594) sig. F4v Thou art not markt to many daies on earth.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. i. 39 These signes haue markt me extraordinary. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) iv. iii. 20 If we are markt to dye, we are enow To doe our Countrey losse. View more context for this quotation
1638 F. Quarles Hieroglyphikes i. 4 Ere he had life, estated in his Vrne, And markt for death.
1751 T. Gray Elegy 11 Melancholy mark'd him for her own.
1826 J. F. Cooper Last of Mohicans II. ii. 27 We are watched and, as it would seem, marked for destruction.
1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest IV. xviii. 154 The high ground, which William's keen eye would at the first glance mark as the site of the future castle.
1920 F. S. Fitzgerald This Side of Paradise i. i. 19 Amory wondered how people could fail to notice that he was a boy marked for glory.
1976 Publishers Weekly 1 Nov. 74/1 As our British friends say, the book is ‘marked to become a classic’.
1996 T. Clancy Executive Orders xliv. 604 The nine terrorists had all been throwaways, as surely marked for death as the Hezbollah fanatics.
†b. transitive. To distinguish or separate from something else. See also sense to mark off 2 at Phrasal verbs, to mark out 3 at Phrasal verbs. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separate [verb (transitive)] > separate from
to-partc1325
dividec1380
separate1526
decide1570
discoast1583
shut1697
mark1706
to shut off1833
to mark off1848
1706 N. Rowe Ulysses iv. i. 1532 This Night..Mark'd from the rest of the Revolving Year, And set apart.
1792 C. Smith Desmond I. 63 Amiable people of rank..who are no longer marked by their titles from that canaille with which [etc.].
1835 H. C. Todd Notes Canada & U.S.A. 46 In Virginia originated Go the whole hog, a political phrase marking the democrat from a federalist.
1871 G. Meredith Harry Richmond III. xviii. 295 I know that this possession of hers [sc. courage], which identifies her and marks her from the rest of us, would bear the ordeal of fire.
1898 N.E.D. at Harvest sb. Not distinctly marked from prec. sense before 14th c.
6.
a. transitive. To indicate (a point in space or time); to indicate the position or course of; to identify the location of with a marker, etc. Of an object: to serve as an indication or marker of; to stand as a landmark upon.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > marking > marking to identify > be distinctive mark on [verb (transitive)] > put identifying mark on > a position or course
markOE
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xi. 95 He..mearcode ða stowe and eode digillice to mynstre.
c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure 952 (MED) There he fyndez A wery wafull wedowe..gretande on a graue grysely teres, New merkyde on molde.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 200 He founde a carefull wydow..syttande on a grave that was new marked.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 265 Pillars..are put there to mark the way, because it is a Desart.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 63 The Sov'reign of the Heav'ns has set on high The Moon, to mark the Changes of the Skye. View more context for this quotation
1769 W. Falconer Shipwreck (ed. 3) i. 8 Eternal powers! What ruins from afar Mark the fell track of desolating war.
1781 J. Logan Ode to Cuckoo in Poems 1 Hast thou a star to guide thy path, Or mark the rolling year?
1845 Ld. Tennyson Mariana (rev. ed.) iv, in Poems (ed. 3) I. 12 For leagues no other tree did mark The level waste, the rounding gray.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xxvii. 209 A withered pine on the opposite mountain marking the other terminus.
1868 M. Arnold Schools & Univ. on Continent 154 Wolf's coming to Halle in 1783..marks an era [etc.].
1869 H. F. Tozer Res. Highlands of Turkey I. 36 The Bunarbashi river, which is marked at first by the plantation at its source, and afterwards by the green marshes which fringe its sides.
1878 R. Browning La Saisiaz 17 Where the blue lake's wrinkle marks the river's inrush pale.
1932 J. C. Powys Glastonbury Romance vii. 208 They had been planted to mark the spot where the Vikings had landed!
1955 S. Wilson Man in Gray Flannel Suit iv. 20 Stone posts topped by iron urns three feet high marked the entrance to the driveway of his grandmother's house.
1970 C. Hill God's Englishman iv. 103 The execution of the King marked a point of no return.
1997 J. Coe House of Sleep viii. 145 We see slow delta wave activity beginning, which marks the start of unconsciousness proper.
b. transitive. To be a distinguishing mark of, or to characterize (a person, etc.); to be a noteworthy feature of (an event, period, etc.). Frequently in passive (now only with by).
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > inhere in or be an attribute of [verb (transitive)] > characterize
distinguish1600
stamp1600
denominate1616
define1633
marka1661
signalize1698
stamp1837
keynote1877
society > communication > indication > marking > mark [verb (transitive)] > be a distinguishing mark or character of
marka1661
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Essex 334 They being mark'd alike in their Poeticall parts.
1764 J. Otis Rights Brit. Colonies 29 That..brutal barbarity that has long marked the general character of the sugar-islanders.
1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1744 I. 87 [Johnson:] His [sc. Savage's] character was marked by profligacy, insolence, and ingratitude.
1802 Ann. Reg. 376 This season has been marked by a new species of entertainment, common to the fashionable world, called a Pic Nic supper.
1838 T. Arnold Hist. Rome I. 187 The period..was marked by the visitations of pestilence, as well as those of war.
1863 C. C. Clarke Shakespeare-characters x. 253 No triumph—no exultation..marks her manner.
1878 G. F. Maclear Celts (1879) ii. 20 Solemn ceremonies marked the gathering of the plant.
a1902 S. Butler Way of All Flesh (1903) xxiii. 101 Our prayers were seldom marked by any very encouraging degree of response.
1937 W. S. Maugham Theatre i. 2 Notwithstanding her cropped peroxide hair and her heavily-painted lips she had the neutral look that marks the perfect secretary.
1950 ‘C. S. Forester’ Mr. Midshipman Hornblower p. x What marked them even more obviously as Spaniards, huge wooden crosses hanging at their peaks.
1990 House & Garden Nov. 29/3 Like the exterior, the interior of Frampton is marked by a winning combination of beefiness and elegance.
†7. transitive. poetic. To mete out, allot, or apportion; to ordain (something). Obsolete.Used chiefly in verse in alliteration with meed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > [verb (transitive)] > fashion, shape, or form
i-schapeOE
shapeOE
markc1330
forge1382
kneadc1400
frame?1518
fashion?1553
labour1578
appropriate1594
to shape out1600
elaborate1611
produce1611
moulda1616
fabric1623
coin1627
timber1646
laborate1662
condition1853
the mind > possession > giving > distributing or dealing out > distribute or deal out [verb (transitive)] > count or measure out
meteOE
measurea1325
markc1330
admeasure1469
tale1631
dimensea1641
to count out1865
c1330 Sir Orfeo (Auch.) (1966) 568 A, way..Þat him was..so vile deþ y-marked.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) 272 Mirþ he merkis mon to mede.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xii. 186 Wo was hym marked that wade mote with the lewed!
a1450 Rule St. Benet (Vesp.) (1902) 678 He til vs merkes slik mede.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 224 (MED) He shall no more hym godys son call; we shall marke hym truly his mede.
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. cii Yone berne in the battale wil ye noght forbere For al ye mobil on the mold merkit to meid.
c1600 (c1350) Alisaunder (Greaves) (1929) 284 Aswage hee ne sholde With all þe main þat he might too merken hem care.
c1600 (c1350) Alisaunder (Greaves) (1929) 497 With menne of Mesopotame to mark þe teene.
1669 Hist. Sir Eger 56 Of cookrie she was wonder slee, And marked all as it should be, Good beef and mutton to be broo.
†8. transitive. To offer or dedicate (something) to (also unto) God, Christ, etc. Chiefly reflexive: to dedicate or submit oneself to God, Christ, etc. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1330 Otuel (Auch.) (1882) 891 (MED) Þei markeden hem alle þre To him þat þolede deþ on tre.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 12136 My maydynhed I merk to myghtifull goddis.
a1550 (?a1475) Battle of Otterburn (1959) 174 (MED) Every man..marke hym to the trenite.
1577 in J. A. Picton City of Liverpool: Select. Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 49 First of all he did mark himself unto God.
9. To annotate.
†a. intransitive. To write a glossarial note or commentary against a word or passage. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
Remonstr. against Romish Corruptions (Titus) (1851) 4 (MED) Crisostom markith there, writinge thus, ‘He that techith wel and leuith euele..dampnith himsilf.’
?c1450 (?a1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 387 (MED) Grete clerkis merken vp-on þis worde of þe gospelle where criste saiþ þus, [etc.].
b. transitive. Of a teacher, examiner, etc.: to assign a mark or marks to (an examination paper, test, etc.); to assign a mark to (a student). More generally: to assess, correct, comment on, etc. (a student's piece of work). Also intransitive. See also to mark down 4 at Phrasal verbs.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > examination > examine [verb (intransitive)] > mark
mark1877
society > education > educational administration > examination > examine a candidate [verb (transitive)] > mark or assess
mark1877
to mark down1929
grade1931
1877 H. Latham On Action of Examinations ix. 478 Two Mathematical Examiners, independently marking a set of papers, will usually agree within a few marks.
1912 Collier's 12 Oct. 24/4 A writer and college instructor in Harvard whom Roosevelt did not like because ‘he marked too hard’.
1950 ‘C. S. Forester’ Randall & River of Time (1951) viii. 111 Mr. Randall settled himself wearily at the cleared dining-room table to mark a pile of mathematical exercises.
1960 G. W. Target Teachers 220 She appeared to have arranged her desk to look as if she had been marking several sets of exercise books.
1984 Guardian 21 July 5/1 Troops would be posted at all examination centres, assessment centres where the papers will be marked, and at the university headquarters where the results will be compiled.
1990 Independent on Sunday 29 July (Review Suppl.) 50/1 The examiner has to attend a ‘standardisation’ meeting, which ensures that all examiners mark in exactly the same way.
c. transitive. Originally Horse Racing (chiefly British). to mark a person's card [see card n.2 16] : to recommend to a person likely winners at a race meeting; (figurative) to brief a person by revealing confidential or valuable information.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > action of informing > give (information) [verb (transitive)] > inform (a person)
to teach a person a thingc888
meanOE
wiseOE
sayOE
wittera1225
tellc1225
do to witc1275
let witc1275
let seec1330
inform1384
form1399
lerea1400
to wit (a person) to saya1400
learn1425
advertise1431
givec1449
insense?c1450
instruct1489
ascertain1490
let1490
alighta1500
advert1511
signify1523
reform1535
advise1562
partake1565
resolve1568
to do to ware1594
to let into one's knowledge1596
intellect1599
possess1600
acquainta1616
alighten1615
recommenda1616
intelligence1637
apprise1694
appraise1706
introduce1741
avail1785
prime1791
document1807
to put up1811
to put a person au fait of1828
post1847
to keep (someone) straight1862
monish1866
to put next to1896
to put (one) wise (to)1896
voice1898
in the picture1900
to give (someone) a line on1903
to wise up1905
drum1908
hip1932
to fill (someone) in on1945
clue1948
background1961
to mark a person's card1961
to loop in1994
1961 E. Partridge Dict. Slang (ed. 5) II. 1179/2 Mark (someone's) card, to give him the information he needs; to put him right: barrow-boys': since ca. 1945. Ex the race~course.
1962 R. Cook Crust on its Uppers ii. 34 They'd marked my card there was a new dance-hall been opened over at Peckham.
1970 P. Laurie Scotl. Yard 291 Mark X's cards, to, to brief X discreetly.
1970 G. F. Newman Sir, You Bastard 282 The third was to phone the insurance assessor and mark his card.
1997 Sun 26 Dec. (Racing section) 2/2 Britain's top tipster Nick Fox..will personally mark your card.
10. transitive (in passive). Of a feature, etc.: to be (more or less) strikingly noticeable. Chiefly with modifying adverb. See also marked adj. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > manifestation > manifestness > manifest [verb (transitive)] > make conspicuous
mark1533
accent1877
signpost1884
1533 T. More Debellacyon Salem & Bizance i. vii. f. xlvi Ye varyaunce bytwene prestes and prestes is more marked and more notable than any of the tother, bycause the prestes go more abrode.
1774 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 63 261 Nothing, however, can be more marked than the note of a nightingale called its jug.
1824 T. B. Macaulay Mitford's Hist. Greece in Misc. Writings (1860) I. 156 The line of demarcation between good and bad men is so faintly marked as often to elude the most careful investigation.
1850 J. Leitch tr. K. O. Müller Ancient Art (new ed.) §204 193 The wrinkles about the eyes and mouth [are] strongly marked.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. x. 280 The junction between it and its neighbours is plainly marked.
1917 M. Fort & L. Lloyd Chem. Dyestuffs xvi. 159 Thus coupled with diazobenzene derivatives cotton-dyeing properties are absent, but with diazonaphthalene derivatives are strongly marked.
1949 P. C. Carman Chem. Constit. & Prop. Engin. Materials xiii. 379 This type of reversible gelation is known as thixotropy and is particularly strongly marked in montmorillonite clays.
1994 Computers & Humanities 28 8/1 Instances of the word are fewer, but more strongly marked.
11.
a. transitive. To show or manifest (one's approval, displeasure, attitude, etc.) by some significant action. (Now only with object modified by possessive.) †Also with clause as object (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > manifestation > [verb (transitive)] > by one's action or behaviour
kitheOE
haveOE
showc1175
discoverc1450
to show outc1450
to show forthc1515
manifesta1525
testify1560
specifya1575
witness1581
mark1791
1791 Duchess of York II. 91 The King continued to mark the same degree of favor to him as ever.
1807 C. Simeon in W. Carus Life (1847) ix. 227 Unless God, by a special interposition of his Providence,..mark his own will respecting it.
1808 W. Scott Marmion vi. xxviii. 359 Eustace..A look and sign to Clara cast, To mark he would return.
1863 E. C. Gaskell Sylvia's Lovers III. xiv. 242 She dusted a chair..for Sylvia, sitting down herself on a three-legged stool to mark her sense of the difference in their conditions.
1880 J. W. Sherer Conjuror's Daughter 279 The Testatrix desired to mark her high sense of [his] merits and services..by leaving the property unreservedly to him.
1904 H. James Golden Bowl I. xxi. 344 She had followed him in his pursuit of pleasure: so she might, precisely, mark her detachment.
1990 New Age Jrnl. Apr. 34/2 One Jewish friend sat shiva for eight days to mark his grief.
b. transitive. To make perceptible or recognizable, by some sign or indication.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > [verb (transitive)] > make perceptible by a sign
mark1904
1904 Grove's Dict. Music I. 18/1 The famous instrumentalists of the classical school..were accustomed to mark the natural accent..by a hardly perceptible prolongation of the first note of the bar.
1923 Chambers's Jrnl. 603/2 The kinegraph registers the short intake of the breath marking his embarrassment.
†12. transitive. Military. To indicate (the pivots, formations, etc.) in a troop manoeuvre. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military operations > evolution > [verb (transitive)] > mark pivots, etc.
mark1796
1796 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry 211 Its adjutant, and those of the regiments standing to its left..will mark each his own left, the adjutants of the regiments to its right..will mark each its own right.
1889 Infantry Drill 88 If the horses are unsteady, they [sc. the officers] must dismount and mark the points on foot.
1889 Infantry Drill 186 The assistant adjutants-general of the base division will mark the point of appui, and assistant adjutants-general will mark the distant points for their respective divisions.
13.
a. transitive. To attach a price to (an article or goods). See also sense to mark down 2 at Phrasal verbs, to mark up 1 at Phrasal verbs.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > that which identifies or distinguishes > labelling > label, tag, or ticket [verb (transitive)] > attach to (an article) an indication of price
mark1859
society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > pricing > attach a price to [verb (transitive)] > mark with price
mark1901
1859 [see to mark down 2 at Phrasal verbs].
1901 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 12 Oct. 5/1 (advt.) Weiler Bros. are opening up a new line of Lamps. They are not yet marked, but do not fail to see them next week.
1928 Publishers' Weekly 22 Sept. 1120/1 One cannot escape the temptation to peek at prices however and I found one marked six shillings and took it.
1996 Which? Guide to starting your own Business (new ed.) xii. 180 If you decide to make your shop self-service, the goods must be easily accessible and each article marked with its price.
b. transitive. Finance. to mark to (the) market: (a) intransitive, to adjust an account, asset valuation, etc., on a regular basis to reflect the current market value of holdings; (b) transitive, to adjust (an account, asset valuation, etc.) on a regular basis to reflect current market value. See also mark to market n., mark-to-market adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > deal in stocks and shares [verb (intransitive)] > specific operations
soften1565
to get out1728
bear1837
to rig the (stock) market1841
stag1845
cornera1860
to straddle the market1870
raid1889
to make a market1899
to job backwards1907
to mark to (the) market1925
short1959
daisy-chain1979
to pitch for ——1983
1925 [implied in: S. Struble Brief Rev. Changes Constit. N.Y. Stock Exchange 39 Provision was made for..‘marking to the market.’ (at marking n. 5b)].
1927 Constit. N.Y. Stock Exchange Rules v. 94 The holder or maker of said due-bill may require that it shall..be kept marked to the market.
1977 Jrnl. Finance 32 1447 These boundaries also assume that investors are not required to mark to the market.
1993 Independent 1 Feb. 21/6 If the high street banks were forced today to ‘mark to market’ the true value of their loan portfolios, we would not see a pretty picture.
14. transitive. figurative. To commemorate or celebrate (a person, event, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > reminder, putting in mind > commemoration, remembrance > commemorate [verb (transitive)]
mingOE
mina1200
remenec1400
remember?a1439
memorize1593
commemorize1628
commemoratea1638
embalma1674
monument1756
memorialize1798
anniversary1841
monumentalize1857
mark1871
obituarize1877
jubilee1887
1871 Congregationalist (Boston, Mass.) 26 Oct. 341/1 Dr. Schaff..is now the regularly installed Professor of Apologetics and Symbolics in the Union Seminary. This was consummated last week, Dr. Schaff marking the event with a powerful address on An American Theology.
1894 Williamsburg (Virginia) Jrnl. Tribune 9 Nov. It was a jolly birthday party marking the fifth anniversary milestone in the life of Miss Myrle Morse.
1927 Industr. & Engin. Chem. 19 1063 The summer of 1927 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the announcement of the Friedel-Crafts reaction.
1958 Times 6 Sept. 8/5 On September 16 the so far mythical Borchester Echo will, in fact, appear on the bookstalls. The B.B.C. have decided to mark ‘The Archers’ 2,000th broadcast on September 26 by producing just one edition.
1966 New Statesman 11 Nov. 718/3 The..author very kindly meant to mark the 17th anniversary of this column some months ago.
1980 Jewish Chron. 18 Apr. 9/3 A memorial service..to mark Holocaust Day.
2010 Wall St. Jrnl. (Electronic ed.) 26 Dec. As a freeze on construction of new West Bank settlements expired Sunday night, Jewish settlers marked the event with celebrations and vows to resume building at full steam.
15. transitive. figurative. Of an experience, etc.: to affect deeply, to leave a lasting impression on.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > effect produced on emotions > have an effect on [verb (transitive)] > deeply
mark1879
1879 H. James Confidence I. xvii. 276 He saw that Gordon..looked older..and more serious, more marked by life. He looked as if something had happened to him.
1942 W. Faulkner Go down, Moses & Other Stories 202 The cook,..who did little else save cook for Major de Spain's hunting..parties, yet..had been marked by the wilderness from simple juxtaposition to it.
1989 A. Brookner Lewis Percy x. 147 The stamp of a suburban childhood, he reflected, probably marked one for life.
16. intransitive. Fox-hunting. Of a hound: to pursue a fox to the point where it goes to ground, or to guard the point at which a fox has gone to ground. Also transitive: to pursue (a fox) to ground. Of a fox: to go to ground (rare). Cf. sense 28.
ΚΠ
1880 W. Carnegie Pract. Trapping 16 The dog marked when it tried the hole again.
1880 W. Carnegie Pract. Trapping 16 The dog still remained marking, so I went back.
1899 Westm. Gaz. 17 Nov. 2/2 A fox was then roused..and hounds ran him..finally marking to ground after a gallop lasting nearly half an hour.
1930 M. Borwick in C. Frederick et al. Foxhunting xxv. 248 It is seldom that they fail to either kill or mark their foxes to the ground.
1986 Horse & Hound 18 Apr. 80/3 A rather unenterprising fox..ran through Sand Wood, over the Waresley Road to Gamlingay Wood and was also marked to ground.
1991 Sporting Dog Jan. 9/1 It hunted within comfortable shot, found game, marked, retrieved tenderly to hand and was perfectly steady.
17. transitive. Sport. To keep close to and so hamper (a player in an opposing team).Not used in North America.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > play football [verb (transitive)] > actions or manoeuvres
place-kick1845
punt1845
dribble1863
head1871
tackle1884
mark1887
foot1900
boot1914
rumble1954
late-tackle1957
dummy1958
crash-tackle1960
to pick up1961
nod1965
slot1970
welly1986
1887 M. Shearman Athletics & Football (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) 317 When practicable he should mark the same man throughout the game, and when the ball is thrown he should always be on the alert.
1901 Scotsman 11 Mar. 4/8 The Scottish players..marked the opposition too carefully to permit of their being very troublesome.
1928 Daily Express 12 Dec. 11/1 Aarvold,..the one player whom every Oxford man had vowed to ‘mark’ relentlessly..was away at once.
1986 Times 19 June 48/6 We'll have to mark him closer than Italy did, but without forgetting about the rest.
1992 N. Bhattacharya Hem & Football iv. 48 You, Purnima, as the right half-back, you must mark the opposite inside left.
18. transitive. Australian Rules Football. To catch (the ball) directly from a kick of at least ten metres, thus winning a free kick to be taken from that point; to kick (the ball) after taking such a catch. Also intransitive. Cf. mark n.1 32a.
ΚΠ
1894 J. M. MacDonald Thunderbolt 94 The ball sailed long and low..about four feet above the forest of hands raised to mark it.
1968 R. D. Eagleson & I. McKie Terminol. Austral. Nat. Football ii. 23 Mark, catch the ball on the full directly from the kick of another player.
1969 Sun-Herald (Sydney) 13 July 48/1 Hudson marked 35 yards out, but a bad kick fell well short of the goal.
1981 A. B. Facey Fortunate Life 230 I did well at marking (or catching) the ball.
II. To record, indicate, inscribe, or portray with a mark, sign, written note, etc.
19.
a. transitive. To record, indicate, or represent by a mark, symbol, or marker; to record, note, or represent in writing.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > marking > mark [verb (transitive)]
markOE
overmark1838
society > communication > record > written record > record in writing [verb (transitive)]
writeeOE
awriteeOE
markOE
titlea1325
record1340
registera1393
accordc1450
chronicle1460
to write upa1475
calendar1487
enrol1530
prickc1540
scripture1540
to set down1562
report1600
reservea1616
tabulatea1646
to take down1651
actuate1658
to commit to writing (also paper)1695
to mark down1881
slate1883
society > communication > writing > written character > represent by written character [verb (transitive)] > character other than letter
markOE
eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) iii. i. 55 Ic wolde gesecgan..hu Creca gewinn [angan],..& mid spellcwidum gemearcian.]
OE Phoenix 333 Weras..mearciað on marmstane hwonne se dæg ond seo tid dryhtum geeawe frætwe flyhthwates.
OE Old Eng. Martyrol. (Julius) 18 May 106 Ða scipliðende þæt geherende behydelice hi mearcedon ðone dæg.
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 25 Þe ureisuns þet ich nabbe buten ane imearket beoð iwriten ouer al.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 41 In þis book I schal marke..how and in what ȝeres such defautes fille.
?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. ii. met. vii. 23 The thynne fame yit lastynge of here idel names is marked with a fewe lettres.
1569 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1878) 1st Ser. II. 9 The utheris personis markit with G grantit..counsall.
1667 in G. R. Kinloch Select. Minutes Synod of Fife (1837) 185 This is to be markit in the presbitery book.
1720 Ayr Presbytery Reg. (MS) 24 Aug. 59 After reading thereof, the clerk was ordered to mark it accordingly.
1774 M. Mackenzie Treat. Maritim Surv. 84 He may..sound the Depths of the Water, and mark them on an Eye-sketch of the Coast.
a1794 E. Gibbon Autobiogr. (1896) 257 After marking the date..the manuscript was deposited in my bureau.
1858 O. W. Holmes Autocrat of Breakfast-table iv. 105 One cannot help using his early friends as the seaman uses the log, to mark his progress.
1879 Expositor 9 411 He draws the chart and marks the sunken reefs.
1890 H. Sweet Primer Spoken Eng. 3 If a word has two strong stresses..both must be marked.
1931 A. J. Cronin Hatter's Castle iii. ii They wad go to the village grocer's for their gin and get it marked to the book as soap.
1949 P. Cummings Dict. Sports 106/1 The circle should be an iron or wooden band sink flush with the ground and it is a foul if the thrower touches it or the ground outside it before the throw is marked.
1956 R. Macaulay Towers of Trebizond ix. 97 It would be fine to..get some fishing in some of the rivers and small lakes that I saw marked on the map.
1986 B. Gilroy Frangipani House ix. 43 At each sunset she scratched the wall to mark the days.
b. transitive. To note or record (points) in a game or contest; (hence) to gain or award (points). Also intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > recording score > record score of [verb (transitive)]
score1742
mark1816
1816 S. W. Singer Researches Hist. Playing Cards 239 If he cannot answer him by shewing the third of them, he who asks the question marks five points.
1861 G. J. Whyte-Melville Good for Nothing I. 154 John Gordon good-naturedly proposed a [billiard] match with the young lady, if Miss Jones would come and ‘mark’.
1870 ‘Cavendish’ Game of Bézique 21 Eleven counters are required by each player—one large round one that marks 500 [etc.].
1905 N.E.D. at Peg v. To mark (the score) with pegs on a cribbage-board.
1975 Country Life 30 Jan. 259/1 Real tennis..needs professionals to ‘mark’ (i.e. score the complicated system of ‘chases’).
c. transitive. Stock Market. To record (a transaction), noting the price at which trading takes place; to record the price paid for (a stock, etc.) in a transaction.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > deal in stocks and shares [verb (transitive)] > specific operations
subscribe1618
to take up1655
to sell out1721
to take in1721
to take up1740
pool?1780
capitalize1797
put1814
feed1818
to vote (the) stock (or shares)1819
corner1836
to sell short1852
promote1853
recapitalize1856
refund1857
float1865
water1865
margin1870
unload1870
acquire1877
maintain1881
syndicate1882
scalp1886
pyramid1888
underwrite1889
oversubscribe1891
joint-stock1894
wash1895
write1908
mark1911
split1927
marry1931
stag1935
unwind1958
short1959
preplace1966
unitize1970
bed and breakfast1974
index-link1974
warehouse1977
daisy-chain1979
strip1981
greenmail1984
pull1986
1911 Encycl. Brit. XXV. 931/2 [At the Stock Exchange] bargains are ‘marked’, that is, the prices at which they are ‘done’ are recorded in the official list.
1963 H. D. Berman Stock Exchange (ed. 4) iii. 18 Bargains can be ‘marked’ by either broker or jobber (or both) but only one mark at any particular price is recorded, and that not necessarily in the order in which the bargains have been done.
1978 Times 6 Sept. 22/1 Jobbers marked stocks better before the official opening.
†20. transitive. To make or trace (the sign of the cross) with the hand (on or upon a person). Obsolete.Cf. sense 3.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > other practices > carry out other practices [verb (transitive)] > make the sign of the cross
markOE
sign1558
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xviii. 174 Constantinus..mearcode him on heafde halig rodetacn, and on his guðfanan.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 127 Vppon heom alswa we er seiden we sculen markian þat tacne of þere halie rode.
c1425 Treat. Ten Commandments in Stud. Philol. (1910) 6 15 (MED) An uncristen man was saued from þe pouer of wicked spiritus be signe of þe cros þat he merked up on him.
1859 C. Dickens Tale of Two Cities iii. x. 220 I mark this cross of blood [in the air] upon you, as a sign that I do it.
21. transitive. To form (a line, mark, figure, etc.); to portray with marks.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > representation in art > represent in art [verb (transitive)]
workOE
shapea1375
express1382
marka1393
resemblea1393
portraya1398
devisea1400
makea1400
represent?a1425
counterfeitc1440
to set on write1486
porturea1500
emporturea1529
story1532
portrait1548
show1565
decipher1567
portraiture1581
to set forth1585
emblazea1592
stell1598
defigure1599
infigure1606
effigiate1608
deportract1611
deportray1611
rendera1616
image1624
configure1630
exiconize1641
effigies1652
to take off1680
mimic1770
paraphrase1961
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 1144 The nynthe Signe..Is cleped Sagittarius, The whos figure is marked thus, A Monstre with a bowe on honde.
a1450 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe i. §12. 2 Next the forseide cercle of the ABC, under the cross lyne, is marked the scale.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 2636 (MED) He cled him all in clene stele, a conyschaunce ouire, Þat made was & merkid on þe messedone armes.
c1475 (c1399) Mum & Sothsegger (Cambr. Ll.4.14) (1936) ii. 42 (MED) For on [hart] þat ȝe merkyd, ȝe myssed ten schore Of homeliche hertis.
1609 J. Dowland tr. A. Ornithoparchus Micrologus 9 The Gregorians..marking all the lines with one colour.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 201 They'll have this to be the Figure of St. Jerome, which God was pleased should be marked upon that Stone, because of the great love he had for that place.
1727–41 E. Chambers Cycl. Pounce, among artificers, a little heap of charcoal-dust, inclosed in some open stuff; to be passed over holes pricked in a work, in order to mark the lines or designs thereof on a paper placed underneath.
1755 J. Smith Printer's Gram. xi. 277 Where words are struck out that are afterwards again approved of, they mark dots under such words, and write in the Margin, Stet.
1837 D. Walker Games & Sports 255 The player who commences..must serve the first ball over a red line marked upon the wall.
1887 T. Hardy Woodlanders I. iii. 44 He carried a horn lantern which..as it dangled, marked grotesque shapes upon the shadier part of the walls.
1951 H. Braun Introd. Eng. Mediaeval Archit. iii. 64 The mason drove his tool across the face of the stone..each blow marking a line upon it.
1990 T. Hillerman Coyote Waits iii. 26 He had solemnly formed the shape of footprints on the earth and marked on them with the pollen the symbols of the sunrays on which Leaphorn would walk.
†22. intransitive. Of a horse: to give an indication of its age by mark of mouth (mark n.1 20a). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > body or parts of horse > [verb (intransitive)] > indicate age by teeth
mark1753
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. at Shell-toothed After a shell-toothed horse has marked, he marks still equally in the nippers, the middling, and the corner teeth.
1842 C. W. Johnson Farmer's Encycl. (at cited word) A horse..is said to mark when he shows his age by a black spot..which appears at about five and a half years old, in the cavities of the corner-teeth, and is gone when he is eight years old.
23. transitive. Originally Military. to mark time: to march on the spot, without moving forward; (figurative) to act routinely, to go through the motions, esp. while awaiting an opportunity for something.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > do nothing [verb (intransitive)]
not to lift a finger1529
to mark time1837
to lay back1920
society > armed hostility > military operations > evolution > [verb (intransitive)] > march > mark time
to mark time1837
1792 Rules & Regulations His Majesty's Forces i. 18 On the word, Mark Time, the Foot then advancing compleats its pace; after which the cadence is continued, without gaining any ground.
1837 T. B. Macaulay Lord Bacon in Ess. (1903) II. 200 The human mind accordingly, instead of marching, merely marked time.
1903 F. W. H. Myers Human Personality II. 296 The Agnostic's appeal to us to halt and mark time.
1919 J. Reed tr. V. Lenin in Ten Days that shook World xi. 270 When one makes a Revolution, one cannot mark time; one must always go forward—or go back.
1933 V. Brittain Test. of Youth iv. 182 Edward, who was still marking time in the southern counties waiting for his final orders.
1963 B. Friedan Feminine Mystique i. 27 They are the ones who quit high school and college to marry, or marked time in some job in which they had no real interest until they married.
1987 tr. M. Gorbachev Perestroika i. ii. 93 We would have had to modernize production by using outmoded, obsolescent equipment. It would have been tantamount to marking time.
2001 I. McEwan Atonement 331 Marking time rather than changing the subject she said, ‘You're a probationer’.
24. transitive. Of a graduated instrument: to indicate or register (a value). Of a clock or watch: to show (a time).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measuring instrument > measure by or as an instrument [verb (transitive)] > register or indicate a certain measurement
mark1820
read1862
give1890
1820 Q. Jrnl. Sci., Lit. & Arts Jan. 316 The maximum and minimum of temperature in the course of the twenty-four hours, as marked by a register thermometer.
1852 T. Ross tr. A. von Humboldt Personal Narr. Trav. Amer. I. i. 23 At great depths the thermometer marks 7 or 8 centesimal degrees.
1881 H. James Washington Square xxxv. 258 Catherine looked up at the clock; it marked a quarter past nine.
1882 E. A. Floyer Unexplored Baluchistan 179 The barometer marked 27·265, being about 3,540 feet.
1915 V. Woolf Voy. Out xvii. 274 The clock marked a few minutes to the hour when a stout black figure passed through the hall.
1978 G. Greene Human Factor v. iii. 250 He was surprised to see that his watch marked eight five.
1992 J. Meek Last Orders 87 The clock can mark what time it likes. I'm not moving unless you can knock me down.
III. To notice or observe.
25.
a. transitive. To take notice of mentally; to consider; to give one's attention to. Often with well.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > notice, observation > observe, note [verb (transitive)]
markc1175
note?c1225
heedc1275
apperceivec1300
spyc1380
notec1390
notac1392
registera1393
considerc1400
notifya1425
animadvert?a1475
mind1490
adnote1558
observe1560
quote1560
remark1581
to take note1600
apprehenda1634
to take cognizance of1635
animadverse1642
notice1660
to pass in review1697
smoke1716
cognize1821
spot1848
looky1900
c1175 ( Homily (Bodl. 343) in S. Irvine Old Eng. Homilies (1993) 174 Ac þeah sanctus Petrus þæt word mearcode, þeah he mid þam wuldre ofercumen wære.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) 2 Thess. iii. 14 If ony man schal not obeie to oure word by epistle, marke [L. notate] ȝe hym and comune ȝe not with him.
c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 226 (MED) Markyth þis tale! taketh hede!
1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 6 He muste..ernestly and diligently marke wel that he redeth.
a1500 (?c1440) J. Lydgate Horse, Goose & Sheep (Lansd.) 602 in Minor Poems (1934) ii. 564 Merk this in your mynde.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Isa. xxviii. E Take hede, and heare my voyce, pondre and merck my wordes wel.
1544 R. Tracy Supplycacion to Kynge Henry VIII sig. Bv Marke well what they purpose by this estatute.
1611 Bible (King James) Psalms xxxvii. 37 Marke the perfect man, and behold the vpright: for the end of that man is peace. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iii. i. 157 And if your Grace marke euery circumstance, You haue great reason to doe Richard right.
a1663 Viscount Falkland Mariage Night (1664) iii. 25 That same's a murrain wise boy, if you mark him.
1700 J. Dryden tr. Ovid Ceyx & Alcyone in Fables 363 I know them well, and mark'd their rude Comport.
1790 Norman & Bertha II. 166 She recollected the husband of her former attendant,..and having marked him framed for villainies [etc.].
1842 E. Miall in Nonconformist 2 8 Another feature of the times is worth marking.
1849 C. Brontë Shirley II. xii. 278 She smiled, well pleased to mark the delight of her pupil.
1915 J. Conrad Planter of Malata in Within Tides 22 As an experienced man of the world, he marked his amused wonder.
1972 ‘M. Innes’ Open House ii. xi. 99 He paused to mark this [sc. a compliment] going home.
1990 J. McGahern Amongst Women 31 Whether Annie and Lizzie had heard of the Sunday visit or had marked her absence wasn't clear.
b. transitive. mark (you) me (well) = (you) mark my word(s) at sense 25c.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > pay attention [phrase] > as a warning
mark (you) me (well)1837
a1625 J. Fletcher Humorous Lieut. iii. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) 131/1 If all the Arts that are can make a Chollique, Therefore look to't: or if imposthumes, marke me, As big as Foot-bals.
a1627 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Old Law (1656) iii. 40 I me old you say Yes parlous old Kidds and you mark me well.
1683 J. Dryden & N. Lee Duke of Guise iii. i. 21 But if some crabbed Virtue turn and pinch 'em, Mark me, they'l run..and howl for Mercy.
1717 S. Centlivre Cruel Gift iii. iii. 37 Then mark me well, my Brother is thy Pris'ner, Let him escape, and I'm for ever thine.
1766 G. Cockings Conquest Canada v. i. 56 But mark me well Sir, shou'd they downward bend Their Course, [etc.].
1814 H. F. Cary tr. Dante Vision III. ii. 123 Mark me well.
1837 E. Howard Old Commodore I. v. [vi] 210 Mark you me, Mr. Alsop, mark you me. We have done our duty, sir.
1897 B. Stoker Dracula xii. 163 It will be much difference, mark me, whether she dies conscious or in her sleep.
1911 J. London Mexican in Sat. Evening Post 19 Aug. 6/2 He is a patriot—mark me, the greatest patriot of us all.
1924 A. D. H. Smith Porto Bello Gold vii. 96 Mark me, 'twould be perfectly feasible for me to give you the slip.
1997 C. Barker in D. E. Winter Revelations i. iii. 10 Mark me, though this wretched appetite is only confessed by hysterics.
c. transitive. (you) mark my word(s): ‘take good note of what I am saying’, ‘believe me’.Cf. quot. 1535 at sense 25a.
ΚΠ
1647 R. Fanshawe tr. B. Guarini Pastor Fido ii. ii. 59 Nymph, mark my words: I finde thou talkst to me Still of a thing call'd Love.
a1668 W. Davenant News from Plimouth i. ii, in Wks. (1673) 6/1 Nor shall you dare to think her honesty A vice: You mark my words, you shall not dare.
1731 J. Trapp in H. Baker Medulla Poetarum Romanorum (1737) I. 171 Arcadians, to Evander (mark my Words) This Message bear.
1784 L. MacNally Robin Hood ii. 33 Mark my words—if you dare attempt any villainy against the chastity of Stella, may I never draw an arrow to the head, if I don't split you from the coxcomb to the waistband.
1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe III. v. 125 Or—mark my words—the Order of the Temple will be utterly demolished.
1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake II. iii. 40 Mark my words, Sir Hereward, that cunning Frenchman will treat with them one by one.
1888 J. Bonner Boodle v. iii. 7 Boodle. Go to Tiffany's for ornaments. Mrs. Boodle. I'll choose 'em. And mark my word, Andrew Jackson, I'll have no indecent starters (statues) in my house.
1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xxx. 347 Mark my words, Thomas, Marilla Cuthbert'll live to rue the steps she's took.
1962 N. Marsh Hand in Glove i. 16 A bad girl..and Miss Cartell will find it out one of these days, you mark my words.
1989 G. Mehta Raj xx. 143 He dresses like them. He lives like them. Mark my words, he will turn their fear into courage.
26. transitive. To notice or perceive physically; to observe; to look at or watch. Now archaic or literary.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (transitive)] > watch or observe
keepc1000
overseeOE
waitc1300
advisec1325
awaita1375
to wait on ——c1384
markc1400
contemplec1429
to keep (also have) an (or one's) eye on (also upon)a1450
to look straitly to?c1450
to wait after ——c1460
vizy1488
contemplatea1533
vise1551
pry?1553
observe1567
eye1592
over-eye?1592
watch1600
outwatch1607
spell1633
superintend1654
under-watch1654
tent1721
evigilate1727
twig1764
stag1796
eye-serve1800
spy1806
deek1825
screw1905
clock1911
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > vigilance > keeping watch > keep watch on [verb (transitive)]
biwitieOE
to look to ——c1330
watchc1330
to make or lay await onc1386
markc1400
to wait to ——c1440
to keep (also have) an (or one's) eye on (also upon)a1450
waken1535
to look unto ——1594
to carry a wary (also watchful, etc.) eye on (also upon)1596
to look after ——a1616
overwatch1618
snokea1652
to look up1855
surveil1960
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xii. 132 (MED) Lyueres to-forn vs vseden to marke Þe selkouthes.
a1450 (?c1421) J. Lydgate Siege Thebes (Arun.) (1911) 1881 (MED) Lik a knyght thidere he streght rood, Markyd ful wel in many mannys sight lich Mars..in stiel armed.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement iii. f. ccclxxv Mark hym whan he daunseth you shall se hym springe lyke a yonkher.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene vi. ii. sig. Aa3 Him stedfastly he markt, and saw to bee A goodly youth of amiable grace. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xii. 50 God who oft descends to visit men Unseen, and through thir habitations walks To mark thir doings. View more context for this quotation
1711 E. Budgell Spectator No. 116. ⁋5 I saw a Hare pop out... I marked the Way she took.
1726 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey IV. xvii. 448 Full well I mark'd the features of his face.
1757 S. Foote Author i. 13 He has not mark'd me yet.
a1807 W. Wordsworth Prelude (1959) iv. 130 So near, that..I could mark him well, Myself unseen.
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake ii. 52 While yet he loitered on the spot, It seemed as Ellen marked him not.
1832 B. Disraeli Contarini Fleming II. iii. v. 241 I looked up, I marked the tumultuous waving of many torches.
1861 W. M. Thackeray Four Georges i. 13 Lift up your glances respectfully, and mark him eyeing Madame de Fontanges.
1893 R. Kipling Many Inventions p. viii The children wise of outer skies Look hitherward and mark A light that shifts.
1961 L. MacNeice After Crash in Observer 8 Oct. 30/2 Then he looked up and marked The gigantic scales in the sky, The pan on the left dead empty And the pan on the right dead empty, And knew..It was too late to die.
27.
a. transitive with clause as object. To take notice of, reflect on, consider (what, whether, etc., introducing an indirect question).
ΚΠ
c1400 Bk. to Mother (Bodl.) 34 (MED) Marke..hou he þat myȝte not erre worschupede his modir.
1553 T. Wilson Rule of Reason (new ed.) sig. Riv The aunswerer muste at the firste hearyng of his [sc. an opponent's] argument, marke whether it bee made accordyng to rules of Logique, or otherwise.
a1591 H. Smith Serm. (1637) 309 You marked when your Master taught you your trade.
1611 Bible (King James) 1 Kings xx. 7 Marke, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischiefe. View more context for this quotation
1693 J. Locke Some Thoughts conc. Educ. §125 Mark how he spends his Time, whether he unactively loiters it away.
1712 R. Blackmore Creation vii. 316 Mark how the Spirits..Seize undulating Sounds, and catch the vocal Air.
1781 W. Cowper Truth 59 The self-applauding bird, the peacock see,—Mark what a sumptuous Pharisee is he!
1814 Ld. Byron Corsair i. x. 13 Mark—how that lone and blighted bosom sears The scathing thought of execrated years!
1866 J. Bryce Holy Rom. Empire (new ed.) i. 4 We shall mark how the new religion, rising in the midst of a hostile power, ends by embracing and transforming it.
1981 W. Bronk Life Supports 34 Mark how we make music, images.
b. intransitive (imperative). ‘Take note.’ Frequently (emphatically) mark you, esp. in colloquial use. Cf. look v. 9.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > be attentive, pay attention to [verb (intransitive)]
lookeOE
reckOE
heedOE
turna1200
beseec1200
yeme?c1225
to care forc1230
hearkenc1230
tendc1330
tentc1330
hangc1340
rewarda1382
behold1382
convert1413
advertc1425
lotec1425
resortc1450
advertise1477
mark1526
regard1526
pass1548
anchor1557
eye1592
attend1678
mind1768
face1863
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke i. f. lxxiij And marke, thy cosen Elizabeth, hath also conceaved a sonne in her olde age.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 310 O vpright Iudge, Marke Iew, ô learned Iudge. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) iv. vii. 3 Tis as arrant a piece of knauery marke you now, as can bee offert. View more context for this quotation
1678 J. Leanerd Rambling Justice iv. 40 Geoff. She is all abomination, and musick is the wind-pipe of Lucifer. Twif. But mark you Cousin, mine is no wind musick.
1700 J. Fletcher & J. Vanbrugh Pilgrim (rev. ed.) iv. 32 Pendragon was a Shentleman, mark you, Sir?
1738 W. Meston Decadem Alteram 52 The noisy Torrent..Cuts out new Chanels with its swelling Flood, But mark, you'll find the noisy Thing decay, Sink low right soon.
1822 J. R. Planché Maid Marian i. iii. 7 Friar Pet. She can fence, and draw the long bow, and play at single stick, and quarter staff. Friar Mich. Yet, mark you, not like a virago, or a hoyden.
1862 Mrs. H. Wood Channings II. ix. 137 ‘Impudence,’ shortly answered Yorke. ‘Mark you, Miss Channing! I have not done with you.’
1867 A. J. Evans St. Elmo xvii. 232 It remains to be seen whether a grand success is not destined to crown it. Mark you! The grapple is not quite over.
1903 G. B. Shaw Man & Superman i. 23 For mark you, Tavy, the artist's work is to shew us ourselves as we really are.
1914 W. Owen Let. 24 May (1967) 255 Mark, I do not for a moment call myself a musician.
a1953 E. O'Neill Touch of Poet (1957) iii. 94 Provided, mark you, that you and your daughter sign an agreement I have drawn up.
1984 K. Waterhouse Thinks xv. 140 There is, mark you, no guarantee that it is indeed Ruth he plans on setting out to meet.
28. transitive. Falconry, Hunting, and Shooting. To note the place of going to cover of (game) after it has been put up. Also with down. Also intransitive. Cf. sense 16.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunt [verb (transitive)] > mark spot
marka1475
a1475 Bk. Hawking (Harl. 2340) in Studia Neophilol. (1944) 16 9 If she neme oon rewarde her opon here foule..merke the Couey and goo afore them somwhat.
1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. biijv And go after yt by laysour to the partrich that be marked and doo as I shall tell yow here folowyng.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones I. iii. ii. 159 The Birds flew into it, and were marked, (as it is called) by the two Sportsmen. View more context for this quotation
1803 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 1 We marked the former [ducks] down.
1849 E. E. Napier Excursions Southern Afr. II. 331 He now dashed..up the opposite bank, having marked a second flock of oxen.
1864 Cornhill Mag. Sept. 340 It is no good to talk of having marked birds down, unless you have distinctly seen a certain toss up of the wings as they pitch.
1898 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport II. 92 Mark down, to keep in view or memory the spot at which the boar went to cover.
1905 N.E.D. (at cited word) When pheasants or partridges are driven from cover, and are flying towards the guns, the beaters cry ‘Mark—Over!’
1999 Telegraph 17 July (Weekend) 12 Mark to ground. When the fox goes down a hole, the hounds react by ‘marking’, i.e pinpointing, the hole in question.
†IV. To direct one's course or aim.
29. transitive (reflexive) and intransitive. Chiefly Scottish in later use. To proceed, advance, go. Occasionally simple transitive: to direct or make (one's way). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > [verb (transitive)] > direct (one's way), proceed, or advance
markc1275
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 5642 Þa cnihtes..heom markede forð.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13131 Forð þa eorles wenden..and mærcoden enne wæi.
c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure 3595 Nowe bownes the bolde kynge with [his] beste knyghtes,..Merkes ouer the mowntaynes full mervaylous wayes.
c1480 (a1400) St. Mary Magdalen 784 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 278 Scho til wildirnes has socht,..& yddir ewinely can hyr mark.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1960) xiii. Exclamacioun 1 Now throw the deip fast to the port I mark.
1568 in J. Small Poems W. Dunbar (1893) II. 237 Oft thow hes refusit Till cum ws till, or ȝit till merk ws neir.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1895) II. 406 The Quene hard this ansuer, quhilk quhen scho hard, she markes to Dunbar.
30.
a. transitive. To aim a blow or missile at; to strike, hit. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > stroke with weapon > strike with a weapon [verb (transitive)] > aim a weapon or blow at
mintc1330
teisec1330
markc1390
aimc1565
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > assail with missiles [verb (transitive)] > aim or direct (missile) > at
markc1390
c1390 Pistel of Swete Susan (Vernon) 320 (MED) He [sc. an Angel] haþ brandist his brond..To Marke þi middel.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) 1592 (MED) Þe mon merkkez hym wel.
c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure 2206 (MED) He merkes thurghe the maylez the myddes in sondyre.
c1475 (c1399) Mum & Sothsegger (Cambr. Ll.4.14) (1936) iii. 268 Rewlers of rewmes..Were..yffoundid..to merke meyntenourz with maces.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1960) xii. v. 132 Of quham this dart hit ane..at the myddill markyt hym full rycht.
?1530 J. Rastell Pastyme of People sig. *Biiv One marked hym with a quarell, & smote hym in the hede.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 7325 Ector..merkit hym in mydward the mydell in two.
b. intransitive. To aim a blow. With to. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iii. 1752 (MED) To Hector he marked haþ so narwe Þat he smote hym euene amyd þe face.
c1440 (?a1400) Sir Perceval (1930) 2067 Hys swerde owt he get, Strykes the geant..Merkes euen to his nekk.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 7034 He merkit to Menestaus with a mayn dynt.
c. intransitive. Scottish. With infinitive: to aim or intend (to do something). Obsolete.
ΚΠ
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Trial of Fox l. 1036 in Poems (1981) 43 This volff weipand on his wayis went, Off his menȝe markand to get remeid.
1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xii. 76 Sen double murther markis to reule the rout.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1895) II. 399 Prepareng with al..thair harte, the destructione of the Catholik and Romane Kirk, quhilk vttirlie tha mark to ouirthraw.

Phrasal verbs

With adverbs in specialized senses. to mark down
1. transitive. To make a (written) note of, to set down in writing.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > written record > record in writing [verb (transitive)]
writeeOE
awriteeOE
markOE
titlea1325
record1340
registera1393
accordc1450
chronicle1460
to write upa1475
calendar1487
enrol1530
prickc1540
scripture1540
to set down1562
report1600
reservea1616
tabulatea1646
to take down1651
actuate1658
to commit to writing (also paper)1695
to mark down1881
slate1883
1712 J. Hughes Spectator No. 554. ¶4 These, therefore, he could only mark down, like imperfect Coastings in Maps, or supposed Points of Land, to be further discovered.
1801 Palladium: Port Folio 10 Oct. 325/3 I have taken the liberty of marking down for his use, a few words, either peculiar to our country, or used in a peculiar sense.
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple I. xii. 156 O'Brien reported the rate of sailing to the master, marked it down on the log-board, and then returned.
1881 J. Fothergill Kith & Kin II. ix. 241 More than one matron then present had silently marked him down..in her book of ‘eligibles’.
1936 Discovery May 145/1 An exhaustive search was not feasible, but 51 nightingales were marked down in Devon.
1992 R. J. Waller Bridges of Madison County i. 14 He marked down several locations for future reference, took some shots to jog his memory later on, and headed south.
2. transitive. To reduce the indicated price of (something).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > fluctuation in price > [verb (transitive)] > lower (price) > lower price of
to call down?1542
embase1577
lower?1662
sinka1684
settle1812
cheapen1833
to mark down1859
1859 N.Y. Herald 5 Jan. (advt.) Mark every article Way Way Way down To some price which will make it..Sell and go quick.
1894 Daily Tel. 16 Jan. 5/7 All seaborne qualities [of coal] were marked down 3s. per ton.
1896 W. D. Howells Impressions & Experiences 53 She was dressed in a..ready-made suit, which somehow suggested itself as having been ‘marked down’.
1923 E. O'Neill Moon of Caribbees 18 Don't you boys forget to mark down cigarettes or tobacco or fruit, remember! Three shillin's is the price.
1946 S. J. Perelman Keep it Crisp 59 At a chaste showcase displaying a box of panatelas marked down to a thousand dollars, a glacial salesman was attending a fierce old party.
1991 Oxf. Econ. Papers 43 227 Though some components, especially clothing, are often marked down for sale because of style cycles, these cycles usually are unrelated to advances in knowledge.
3. transitive. To designate, identify, target.
ΚΠ
1894 ‘R. Andom’ We Three & Troddles xxii. 210 The demon dyspepsia had marked him down.
1974 J. Betjeman Nip in Air 27 Pedestrians and dogs and cats—we mark them down for slaughter.
1987 M. Ignatieff Russian Album v. 101 The Empress had marked Paul down as a dangerous liberal.
4. transitive. To deduct marks from, to score harshly.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > examination > examine a candidate [verb (transitive)] > mark or assess
mark1877
to mark down1929
grade1931
1929 Jrnl. Educ. Sociol. 3 216 In cases where there are no student errors, the instructor may mark himself highly successfully. For statements marked correctly by 90 per cent of the class, he may mark himself down accordingly.
1987 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 5 July 11/5 A high school student is suing school officials after being marked down in her class because she refused to dissect a frog.
1997 ‘Q’ Deadmeat 73 The teacher never encouraged him, she spent more time with the white kids so Bones didn't bother, because when he did she marked him down.
 to mark off
1. transitive. To measure off, demarcate; (Engineering, Shipbuilding, etc.) to divide into measured sections for subsequent cutting, machining, alignment, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measure [verb (transitive)] > measure or mark off
gaugec1420
dimension1754
to mark off1803
society > communication > indication > marking > marking out > mark out [verb (transitive)] > mark position or boundaries of
locate1739
to mark off1803
1803 T. Jefferson Addr. to Brothers of Choctaw Nation 17 Dec. in Writings (1984) 559 You have spoken, brothers, of the lands which your fathers formerly sold and marked off to the English.
1879 R. A. Sterndale Afghan Knife III. xvii. 289 The English officer took out a case map and unfolded it, marking off the distances with a pair of compasses.
1894 W. J. Lineham Text-bk. Mech. Engin. vi. 185 If the work is too large to mark-off on a table it should be levelled, and all lines be drawn by reference to an ideal horizontal or vertical plane.
1911 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 853/2 The course for sprinting races..is marked off in lanes for the individual runners by means of cords stretched upon short iron rods.
1925 F. J. Drover Marine Engin. Repairs xix. 120 The cheeks are marked off for thickness.
1966 J. H. Dixon tr. V. K. Dormidontov Shipbuilding Technol. i. 15 Hull details are marked off from the full-size or scaled down lofting data and from working drawings.
1992 National Trust Mag. Spring 34/2 The remains of a ‘ring-garth’ wall, which, in medieval times, marked off the open, grazed fell from the enclosed..land.
2. transitive. To distinguish or separate from something else.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separate [verb (transitive)] > separate from
to-partc1325
dividec1380
separate1526
decide1570
discoast1583
shut1697
mark1706
to shut off1833
to mark off1848
1848 C. Dickens Dombey & Son lv. 553 He was marked off from the living world, and going down into his grave.
1869 H. F. Tozer Res. Highlands of Turkey II. 264 The Popular Tale is thus marked off by features of its own from ordinary stories.
1877 J. E. Carpenter tr. C. P. Tiele Outl. Hist. Relig. 16 He marks off the Semites from them very decidedly.
1912 J. S. Huxley Individual in Animal Kingdom iii. 80 Those bodies [sc. chromosomes] which taken together appear to determine the characteristics of the offspring, or at least those which mark off from others of the same species.
1956 A. S. C. Ross in M. Black Importance of Lang. (1962) 91 The upper class is clearly marked off from the others.
1987 W. Raeper George MacDonald xxviii. 306 MacDonald's intention to write for the childlike, and not just for children, marks him off from many other nineteenth-century children's writers.
3. transitive. To cancel with a mark or line as passed, dealt with, etc. Also figurative.Cf. tick v.1 3a.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > marking > mark [verb (transitive)] > with ticks
prick1536
to check off1839
tick1854
to mark off1875
tick-off1934
1875 H. James Roderick Hudson iv, in Atlantic Monthly Apr. 423/2 The monotonous days..seemed to Rowland's fancy to follow each other like the tick-tick of a great time-piece, marking off the hours.
1919 G. B. Shaw Great Catherine i, in Heartbreak House, Great Catherine, & Playlets of War 139 He marks off the items of his statement with ridiculous stiff gestures.
1945 H. D. in Life & Lett. To-day May 67 I counted the days and marked them off, calculating the weeks.
1984 New Yorker 9 Apr. 43/1 My time was good only for marking off the calendar, and I lived for his return.
 to mark out
1. transitive. To distinguish or characterize for or as something; to choose for a purpose.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > types of choice > choose in specific way [verb (transitive)] > select from a number or for a purpose
markOE
to choose out1297
out-trya1325
cullc1330
welec1330
try1340
walea1350
coil1399
drawa1400
to mark outa1450
electa1513
sorta1535
prick1536
exempta1538
select1567
sort1597
to gather out1611
single1629
delibate1660
to cut out1667
outlooka1687
draught1714
draft1724
to tell off1727
a1450 York Myst. 290 (MED) To go with yone gest, Yhe marke vs out of þe manliest men.
1631 F. Quarles Hist. Samson 82 Presumptuus Philistine! That dost proceed From the base loines of that accursed seed, Branded for slaughter, and mark'd out for death.
1678 N. Lee Mithridates i. i. 11 O, Celestial Powers! Mark me your Subject out for all misfortunes.
1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 20 That lucky Youth is certainly mark'd out for a Commission.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 169. ¶5 Men whom only themselves would ever have marked out as enriched by uncommon liberalities of nature.
1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) III. 345 The law will not pass him over, and marks him out, in rei exemplum et infamiam.
1853 E. Bulwer-Lytton My Novel I. iii. xxiv. 245 Suspected persons were naturally marked out by Mr. Stirn, and reported to his employer.
1863 A. P. Stanley Lect. Jewish Church I. xviii. 392 The little mantle..had from his earliest years marked him out as an almost royal personage.
1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest IV. xviii. 242 The men of Durham, who had been marked out for the slaughter.
1893 H. D. Traill Social Eng. Introd. 48 The country..which had been marked out by destiny to become the greatest manufacturer in the world.
1969 M. Bragg Hired Man (1972) ii. xv. 143 His boots, his cap, his heavy flapping jacket all marked him out as a miner.
1989 M. Coren Gilbert iv. 128 The wit and penetration on display marked the author out as a notable talent.
2. transitive. To stake out, trace out, plot, demarcate, etc. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > marking > marking out > mark out [verb (transitive)]
to quarter out1600
to mark out1611
point1611
to set offa1647
to set out1653
score1687
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > boundary > bound or form boundary of [verb (transitive)] > fix boundary of
meteeOE
markeOE
mereOE
bound1393
determinea1398
terminea1398
rede1415
measurea1513
butt1523
space1548
limit1555
determinate1563
to mark out1611
contermine1624
to run out1671
verge1759
demarcate1816
outline1817
define1843
rope1862
delimit1879
delimitate1879
1611 Bible (King James) Isa. xliv. 13 The carpenter stretcheth out his rule:..he marketh it out with the compasse, and maketh it after the figure of a man. View more context for this quotation
1684 R. Howlett School Recreat. 117 Mark out the Head of your Pond, and make it the highest part of the Ground in the eye, tho' it be the lowest in the true Level.
1702 Mil. Dict. Picket, or Piquet, is a Stake sharp at the end, which serves to mark out the Ground, and Angles of a Fortification, when the Ingenier is laying down the Plan.
1769 O. Goldsmith Rom. Hist. I. 411 This extraordinary man [sc. Julius Caesar]..had from the very beginning of his life marked out a way to universal empire.
1843 G. Borrow Bible in Spain II. xii. 264 To ascend the mountain, where, no doubt, he has been marking out a camp.
1879 R. Browning Martin Relph 78 And all that time stood Rosamund Page..Bandaged about, on the turf marked out for the party's firing-place.
1954 M. Wheeler Archaeol. from Earth viii. 95 The mound is marked out into four quarters by two strings.
1984 N. Annan Leslie Stephen (1986) iv. 130 He had marked out a future for her, quite different from that he had in mind for Stella.
3. transitive. To distinguish from something else.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > individual [verb (transitive)] > distinguish one thing (from another)
distinguish1576
to mark out1613
denominate1792
1613 T. Potts Wonderfull Discov. Witches sig. O3v Great was the care and paines of his Lordship, to make triall of the Innocencie of this woman..by an extraordinary meanes of Triall, to marke her out from the rest.
1645 G. Wither Vox Pacifica iii. 134 To honour them, and mark them out from those, Who to the publike welfare, now, are foes.
1851 N. Hawthorne House of Seven Gables i. 31 So long as any of the race were to be found, they had been marked out from other men.
1888 Mrs. H. Ward Robert Elsmere III. v. xxxii. 34 The reasoning faculty..which marks us out from the animal.
1905 T. E. Harvey Rise of Quakers ii. 10 Her son's serious ways, by which he was marked out from his other brothers and sisters.
1978 V. Brome Jung (1980) i. 22 The irrational side of his nature, which marked Carl Jung out from most of his conforming colleagues.
1997 A. Sivanandan When Memory Dies ii. ii. 133 He was..marked out from the rest by his bedraggled tussore suit, his trouser legs held permanently together by bicycle clips.
 to mark up
1. transitive. To raise the indicated price of (an item); to add the mark-up to the cost price of (an item).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > fluctuation in price > [verb (transitive)] > increase (prices) > raise the price of
advance?a1400
dearthc1440
to set up?1529
mount1532
price1533
hoise1581
endear1603
raisea1626
to mark up1868
to price up1904
lift1907
1868 Galaxy Aug. 273 I have marked up all my goods 10 per cent. Tony's neighbors used to laugh at his new way of making money; but it is just about what tradesmen do now.
1870 Amer. Naturalist 3 3 The prices of venison and other game was so far ‘marked up’ that gold..was charged for salmon.
1902 G. H. Lorimer Lett. Merchant iv. 52 The clerks all knocked off their regular work and started in to mark up prices.
1929 Evening News 18 Nov. 15/1 Home rail stocks were marked up all round.
1962 E. Godfrey Retail Selling & Organization xvi. 164 A minority of firms..have abandoned them [sc. fixed profit margins] in favour of marking-up each item on its merits.
1995 Accountancy Nov. 94/1 The cost of producing goods and services is marked up to reflect an appropriate profit in the light of the functions performed.
†2. transitive. To add (an item) to an account; to give credit for (something). Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > solvency > be solvent [verb (transitive)] > give credit to or for > give credit for (goods)
to credit out1595
tick1842
strap1862
to mark up1899
1899 Tit-bits 22 July 322/1 I shaved a gentleman who asked me to mark it up.
3. transitive. To correct or annotate (copy or proofs) for typesetting, printing, etc., esp. by making copy-preparation or proof-reading marks; to annotate (a text).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > correction > correct [verb (transitive)] > proofs
proof-correct1803
proofread1845
reproof1850
proof1930
to mark up1963
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > explanation, exposition > interpretation > particular interpretation, construction > interpret in particular way [verb (transitive)] > annotate, comment
annotec1525
descant?1532
comment1599
commentary1648
annotate1693
commentate1794
to mark up1963
1963 A. Brown & P. G. Foote Early Eng. & Norse Stud. 191 We cannot exclude the possibility that an occasional author, or a few early master printers, anticipated contemporary practice in pre-reading and ‘marking-up’ copy.
1968 J. R. Biggs Basic Typogr. 122/2 The layout which goes to the printer with the typographic instructions ‘marked up’..should be quite accurate with nothing left to chance.
1973 A. Davis Graphics iii. 74 When he is marking-up an article for a publication of established format, its title, followed by the words ‘Usual style’, may give all the guidance the printer needs.
1978 Hart's Rules for Compositors & Readers (ed. 38) 34 The marks should also be used by copy-editors in marking up copy.
1984 N.Y. Times 14 Feb. c13/3 Miss Whitelaw marks up her copy of a Beckett manuscript with brief, sometimes cryptic remarks.
1995 M. Amis Information (1996) 41 He came out of there..with a new job, that of Special Director of the Tantalus Press, where he went on to work about a day a week, soliciting and marking up illiterate novels.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2000; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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