释义 |
hall·mark I. \ˈhȯlˌmärk, -mȧk\ noun Etymology: Goldsmiths' Hall, London, England, where gold and silver articles were assayed and stamped + English mark 1. a. in England : an official mark stamped on gold and silver articles to attest their purity and comprised of the king's or queen's mark, the maker's mark, the assayer's mark, and a letter of the alphabet for the year, a new style being used when the alphabet in one style is exhausted b. : a mark stamped on gold and silver articles consisting of the word “sterling” accompanied by the name or mark of the manufacturer c. : a mark or device placed or stamped upon an article of trade to indicate origin, purity, or genuineness < the hallmark of a potter of the Ming dynasty > d. : the identifying mark or device (as of a company) < the new hallmark will be a small, bright spot on company letterheads — Bulletin Standard Oil of California > 2. : a distinguishing or identifying characteristic, trait, or feature < avoidance of such constructions … has become a hallmark of social respectability — Thomas Pyles > < the hallmark of the adult human being is responsibility — Weston La Barre > < his solicitude for the poor … is the hallmark of his best stories — Hakon Stangerup > II. transitive verb 1. : to stamp with a hallmark 2. a. : to constitute a distinguishing or identifying feature or trait of < two great faults and two great virtues hallmarked the work of the late … associate justice — Fred Rodell > b. : to have or display the distinguishing, validating, or identifying traits or features of < a host of inconspicuous but hallmarked spinsters — Times Literary Supplement > < my one genuine hallmarked ghost story — Rudyard Kipling > |