postmarkn.
/ˈpəʊs(t)mɑːk/, U.S. /ˈpoʊs(t)ˌmɑrk/ An official mark stamped on a letter or other postal package for various purposes; formerly usually bearing the name of the office at which the letter was posted, the amount of postage, and an indication of whether the postage was paid or unpaid; later giving the place, date, and time of dispatch or arrival, and (in the case of stamped items) serving also to cancel the stamp.Postmarks may also be used for other purposes; e.g. to indicate deficient payment, prepayment, etc.
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society > communication > correspondence > postal services > payment for postage > [noun] > postmarking > postmark
stamp1661
postmark1678
post-office stamp1827
obliterator1869
obliteration1881
1678 Trial of Ireland 47 Mr. Oates..the Post mark upon it was but Two-pence, to be paid for it.
1699 Protestant Mercury 8–13 Sept. No. 403. 2/1 Last week a Town-Sharper Forged a Letter with the PostMark, &c.
1745 Duke of Richmond Let. 25 Sept. in Corr. Dukes of Richmond & Newcastle (1984) 184 The enclosed letter..did not come from London, for there was no post marke upon it.
1765 J. S. Mackenzie Let. 4 Aug. in Jenkinson Papers (1949) 379 I have just now received the favor of your letter of the 28 past which I suppose should have been dated the 29th, the London post mark upon the cover is dated the 30th.
1830 F. Marryat King's Own I. xiv. 209 The post-mark is Plymouth.
1891 S. Smiles Publisher & Friends I. xiv. 344 Letter..dated..26th December, 1814, though the post-mark shows it was not delivered until the 12th of January, 1815.
1898 J. H. Daniels Hist. Brit. Postmarks 5 In 1680 William Dockwra started in London the first Penny Post, and he is also credited with the introduction of postmarks, [but] I have entire letters containing undoubted marks impressed by the General Post fifteen years previously.
1958 E. Birney Turvey i. 1 It had a New York postmark but no stamp.
1992 Gibbons Stamp Monthly Mar. 5/1 A commemorative cover and special postmark have been designed to mark the event.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
postmarkv.
/ˈpəʊs(t)mɑːk/, U.S. /ˈpoʊs(t)ˌmɑrk/ transitive (usually in passive). To stamp (a letter or other postal package) with a postmark, esp. one showing the place and date of posting.
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1716 Admiralty Notice in London Gaz. No. 5436/3 A Letter without Date, but Post mark'd, the 24th of this Instant May.
1813 M. Cutler Let. 23 Mar. in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) II. 317 Your favor of February 3d (but postmarked the 18th).
1883 F. M. Crawford Dr. Claudius i. 9 The envelope..was post-marked ‘New York’.
1934 D. Hammett Thin Man xix. 129 The envelope was postmarked Boston, Massachusetts, December 27, 1932.
1993 Gibbons Stamp Monthly Jan. 13/1 Bearing the Single European Market stamp, the cover is postmarked on 13 October 1992 with the Stampex handstamp featuring the Houses of Parliament.
Derivatives
ˈpostmarked adj.
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society > communication > correspondence > postal services > payment for postage > [adjective] > postmarked
postmarked1897
1897 Times Democrat (Lima, Ohio) 9 Aug. It might be of assistance..if everybody who receives an illegibly postmarked letter would make a complaint to the proper bureau of the postoffice department.
1992 Gibbons Stamp Monthly Mar. 60/1 The illegal cleaning of post-marked stamps for re-use.
ˈpostmarking n.
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society > communication > correspondence > postal services > payment for postage > [noun] > postmarking
postmarking1859
1859 Regul. P.-O. Department, Washington U.S. §397 The use of the office dating or post-marking stamp as a canceling instrument is prohibited.
1987 Stamps Feb. 66/2 Even postmarking machines get worn—or at least their cancelling dies do, and Belgrade is not exempt from this symptom.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1678v.1716