mark

plural marks · alternative obsolete marke · alternative obsolete merk · alternative obsolete marc

1. Boundary, land within a boundary.
   1. obsoleteheadingA boundary; a border or frontier.First known use 9th–19th c.
   2. obsoleteheadingA boundary-post or fence.First known use 13th–18th c.
   3. headingA stone or post used to indicate position and guide travellers.First known use 14th c.

      I do remember a great thron in Yatton field near Bristow-way, against which Sir William Waller's men made a great fire and killed it. I think the stump remains, and was a mark for travellers.

      1859, Henry Bull, A history, military and municipal, of the ancient borough of the Devizes

   4. headingThe line indicating an athlete's starting-point.First known use 19th c.
   5. archaicheadingA type of small region or principality.First known use 18th c.

      There dwells Théoden son of Thengel, King of the Mark of Rohan.

      1954, J R R Tolkien, The Two Towers

   6. historicalheadingA common, or area of common land, especially among early Germanic peoples.First known use 19th c.
2. Characteristic, sign, indication for measurement; visible impression.
   1. headingAn omen; a symptomatic indicator of something.First known use 8th c.

      depend upon it, you will speedily receive from me a letter of thanks for this as well as for every other mark of your regard during my stay in Hertfordshire.

      1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC

   2. headingA characteristic feature.First known use 16th c.

      A good sense of manners is the mark of a true gentleman.

      1 more example

      there is surely a physiognomy, which those experienced and master mendicants observe, whereby they instantly discover a merciful aspect, and will single out a face, wherein they spy the signatures and marks of mercy.

      1642, [Thomas Browne], “(please specify the page)”, in Religio Medici, London: […] Andrew Crooke, →OCLC

   3. headingA visible impression or sign; a blemish, scratch, or stain, whether accidental or intentional.First known use 9th c.

      Then she put before her face her poor crushed hands, which bore on their whiteness the red mark of the Count's terrible grip[…].

      1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable and Company, […], →OCLC

   4. headingA sign or brand on a person.First known use 10th c.

      Doubt not of thine election, it is an immutable decree; a mark never to be defaced: you have been otherwise, you may and shall be.

      1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “III.iv.2.6”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC

   5. headingA written character or sign.First known use 10th c.

      The font wasn't able to render all the diacritical marks properly.

   6. headingA stamp or other indication of provenance, quality etc.First known use 11th c.

      With eggs, you need to check for the quality mark before you buy.

      2 more examples

      But vvhat a vvretched, and diſconſolate Hermitage is that Houſe, vvhich is not viſited by thee [God], and vvhat a VVayue, and Stray is that Man, that hath not thy Markes vpon him?

      1624, John Donne, “13. Prayer”, in Deuotions upon Emergent Occasions, and Seuerall Steps in My Sicknes: […], London: […] A[ugustine] M[atthews] for Thomas Iones, →OCLC, page 329

      The mark of the artisan is found upon the most ancient fabrics that have come to light.

      1876, Edward H. Knight, American Mechanical Dictionary

   7. headingBadge or sign of honour, rank, or official station.

      In the official marks invested, you / Anon do meet the Senate.

      1605, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Coriolanus

   8. archaicheadingPreeminence; high position.

      patricians of mark

      1 more example

      a fellow of no mark

   9. headingA characteristic or essential attribute; a differential.
   10. headingAn indication or sign used for reference or measurement.First known use 14th c.

       I filled the bottle up to the 500 ml mark.

   11. cookingA specified level on a scale denoting gas-powered oven temperatures.First known use 20th c.

       Now put the pastry in at 450 degrees, or mark 8.

   12. headingOne of the bits of leather or coloured bunting placed upon a sounding line at intervals of from two to five fathoms. (The unmarked fathoms are called "deeps".)
   13. obsoleteheadingResemblance, likeness, image.First known use 14th–16th c.
   14. headingA particular design or make of an item (now usually with following numeral).First known use 15th c.

       I am proud to present my patented travelator, mark two.

       Synonyms: Mk, Mk.

   15. product design/engineeringheadingThe model number of a device; a device model.

       The Mark I system had poor radar, and the Mark II was too expensive; regardless, most antiaircraft direction remained the responsibility of the Mark I Eyeball (as the jocular phrase calls it): that is, the operator's eye.

3. Score, grade, or related judgement.
   1. CommonwealthheadingA score for finding the correct answer, or other academic achievement; the sum of such points gained as out of a possible total.First known use 19th c.

      What mark did you get in your history test?

   2. headingA score for a sporting achievement.First known use 20th c.
   3. headingAn official note that is added to a record kept about someone's behavior or performance.

      A mark for tardiness or for absence is considered by most pupils a disgrace, and strenuous efforts are made to avoid such a mark.

      1871, Chicago Board of Education, Annual Report, volume 17, page 102

4. Target or indicator.
   1. headingA target for shooting at with a projectile.First known use 13th c.

      A skilfull archer ought first to know the marke he aimeth at, and then apply his hand, his bow, his string, his arrow and his motion accordingly.

      , II.1

      1 more example

      To give them an accurate eye and strength of arm, none under twenty-four years of age might shoot at any standing mark, except it was for a rover, and then he was to change his mark at every shot; and no person above that age might shoot at any mark whose distance was less than eleven score yards.

      1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 37

   2. informalheadingThe target or intended victim of a swindle, fixed game or con game; a gullible person.First known use 18th c.

      [Xi Jinping] asked for Trump's personal attention to the issue, probably figuring he had identified his mark and wasn't going to let him get away.

      2020 June 23, John Bolton, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 313

      2 more examples

      Another common form of short con is the shell game. This scam has the advantage of giving the criminal the ability to rip off many marks all at one location.

      2009, Michael Benson, Cons and Frauds, Infobase, →ISBN, page 21

      Dominic Di Grasso (Michael Imperioli): How are you gonna make it in life if you're this big a mark? Albie Di Grasso (Adam DiMarco): I'm not a mark.

      2022 December 11, Mike White, “Arrivederci”, in Mike White, director, The White Lotus, season 2, episode 7, via HBO

   3. governmentA professional wrestling fan who believes matches are legitimate contests rather than scripted or predetermined.
5. headingAttention.

   But faults so countenanced, that the strong statutes Stand like the forfeits in a barber's shop, as much in mock as mark

   1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure

   1. archaicheadingAttention, notice.First known use 15th c.

      His last comment is particularly worthy of mark.

      Synonyms: heed

   2. headingImportance, noteworthiness. (Generally in postmodifier "of mark".)First known use 16th c.

      in the short story of western flavor he was a pioneer of mark, the founder of a genre: probably no other writer is so significant in his field.

      1909, Richard Burton, Masters of the English Novel

   3. obsoleteheadingRegard; respect.
6. obsoleteThe female genitals.First known use 16th–18th c.

   A mark saies my Lady. Let the mark haue a prick in't, to meate at, if it may be.

   c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]

   1 more example

   her thighs were still spread, and the mark lay fair for him, who, now kneeling between them, displayed to us a side-view of that fierce erect machine of his[…].

   Fanny Hill

   1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC

7. Rugby football; Australian rules football; Rugby football; Australian rules footballA catch of the ball directly from a kick of 10 metres or more without having been touched in transit, resulting in a free kick.First known use 19th c.
8. Limit or standard of action or fact.

   to be within the mark

   1 more example

   to come up to the mark

present singular third person marks · participle present marking · participle past marked · past marked · alternative obsolete marke · alternative obsolete merk · alternative obsolete marc

1. To put a mark on (something); to make (something) recognizable by a mark; to label or write on (something).

   to mark clothing with one's name

   3 more examples

   to mark a box or bale of merchandise

   [I]f you drink much from a bottle marked “poison,” it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later.

   1865 November (indicated as 1866), Lewis Carroll [pseudonym; Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], “Down the Rabbit-Hole”, in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, London: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 10

   Her son wrote badly, as if fearful of marking the page at all.

   1969, William Trevor, chapter 11, in Mrs. Eckdorf in O’Neill’s Hotel, Penguin, published 1973, page 177

2. To leave a mark (often an undesirable or unwanted one) on (something).

   The floor was marked with wine and blood.

   3 more examples

   See where this pencil has marked the paper.

   Those Wheels returning ne’er shall mark the Plain;

   1717, Alexander Pope, transl., The Iliad of Homer, London: Bernard Lintott, Volume 3, Book 12, p. 229

   Advertisements are from time to time inserted, stating that slaves have escaped […] marked with the lash, branded with red-hot irons, the initials of their master’s name burned into their flesh;

   1855, Frederick Douglass, “speech given on 12 May, 1846. Appendix.”, in My Bondage and My Freedom. […], New York; Auburn, N.Y.: Miller, Orton & Mulligan […], →OCLC, part II (Life as a Freeman), page 410

   Synonyms: blemish, scar, scratch, stain

3. figurativelyTo have a long-lasting negative impact on (someone or something).

   The death of his wife, followed by months of being alone, had marked him with guilt and shame and had left an unbreaking loneliness on him.

   1939, John Steinbeck, chapter 10, in The Grapes of Wrath, Penguin, published 1976, page 104

   2 more examples

   What Uncle Marc had been through as a slave marked him, I’m sure, but I don’t know how much. How can you know what a man would be like if he had grown up unmarked by horror?

   1998, Octavia Butler, Parable of the Talents, New York: Seven Stories Press, page 279

   It is time the international community faced the reality: we have an unmanageable, unfair, distortionary global tax regime. It is a tax system that is pivotal in creating the increasing inequality that marks most advanced countries today […].

   2013 June 7, Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalisation is about taxes too”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 19

4. To create an indication of (a location).

   Some animals mark their territory by urinating.

   1 more example

   She folded over the corner of the page to mark where she left off reading.

5. To be an indication of (something); to show where (something) is located.

   A bell marked the end of visiting hours.

   5 more examples

   This monument marks the spot where Wolfe died.

   And where the jolly Troop [of elves and fairies] had led the round The Grass unbidden rose, and mark’d the Ground:

   1700, John Dryden, “The Wife of Bath Her Tale”, in Fables Ancient and Modern, London: Jacob Tonson, page 479

   She gave her an answer which marked her contempt, and instantly left the room,

   1811, [Jane Austen], chapter 4, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 49

   […] the cloth was laid for him […] and a plate laid thereon to mark that the table was retained,

   1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 58, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 528

   […] the lazy circling vultures marked the Hill of Execution, which was littered with human bones and scavenged by hyaenas.

   1973, Jan Morris, Heaven’s Command: An Imperial Progress, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, published 1980, Part 1, Chapter 3, section 6, p. 61

   Synonyms: demonstrate, indicate, manifest, reveal, show, signal

6. To indicate (something) in writing or by other symbols.

   Prices are marked on individual items.

   3 more examples

   In her Bible, the words of Christ were marked in red.

   […] it was in the middle of May, on the sixteenth Day I think, as well as my poor wooden Calendar would reckon; for I markt all upon the Post still;

   1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 219

   “What does the clock mark now?” “Eight minutes to seven.”

   1875, Benjamin Farjeon, At the Sign of the Silver Flagon, New York: Harper, Part 3, Chapter 2, p. 84

   Synonyms: display, show, write

7. To create (a mark) on a surface.

   I mark this cross of blood upon you, as a sign that I do it.

   1859, Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, London: Chapman and Hall, Book 3, Chapter 10, p. 220

   2 more examples

   […] on opening it [the handkerchief], I saw an S mark’d in one of the corners.

   1768, Laurence Sterne, “Maria”, in A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy, volume 2, London: T. Becket and P.A. De Hondt, page 175

   […] I was testing a stack of old whitewalls, dunking them in the water and marking a yellow chalk circle around each leak.

   1988, Barbara Kingsolver, chapter 6, in The Bean Trees, New York: HarperCollins, page 82

   Synonyms: draw, trace

8. To celebrate or acknowledge (an event) through an action of some kind.

   The national holiday is marked by fireworks.

   1 more example

   It was only four thirty but Gerald was marking his guests’ arrival with a Pimm’s, […]

   2004, Alan Hollinghurst, chapter 11, in The Line of Beauty […], 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 276

   Synonyms: commemorate, solemnize

9. To identify (someone as a particular type of person or as having a particular role).

   His courage and energy marked him as a leader.

   4 more examples

   […] the son approached her with a cheerful eagerness which marked her as his peculiar object,

   1815, Jane Austen, chapter 8, in Emma, volume 2, London: John Murray, page 134

   The black dress, gold cross on the watch-chain, the hairless face, and the soft, black wideawake hat would have marked him as a holy man anywhere in all India.

   1901, Rudyard Kipling, chapter 5, in Kim, London: Macmillan, published 1902, page 115

   His long thin falling-away cheekbones marked him as a member of either the Xhosa or Zulu tribe.

   1968, Bessie Head, chapter 1, in When Rain Clouds Gather, Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, published 2013, page 1

   Enquiring about the movement of trains—even if you were a passenger on one—could mark you as a saboteur.

   2016, Julian Barnes, The Noise of Time, Random House, Prologue

10. To assign (someone) to a particular category or class.

    The new captain would read the fitness report and mark him once and for all as an unreliable fool […]

    1951, Herman Wouk, The Caine Mutiny, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Part 2, Chapter 10, p. 113

    Synonyms: classify, mark out

11. To choose or intend (someone) for a particular end or purpose.

    […] I know now that humankind marks certain people for death.

    1970, Saul Bellow, chapter 5, in Mr. Sammler’s Planet, New York: Viking, page 230

    1 more example

    When a king, hath once markt for his hate, / A man inferior; […] / […] euermore, he rakes vp in his brest, / Brands of quicke anger;

    [1611?], Homer, “The First Booke of Homers Iliads”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., The Iliads of Homer Prince of Poets. […], London: […] Nathaniell Butter, →OCLC, page 28

    Synonyms: destine, mark out, target

12. To be a point in time or space at which something takes place; to accompany or be accompanied by (an event, action, etc.); to coincide with.

    The creek marks the boundary between the two farms.

    4 more examples

    That summer marked the beginning of her obsession with cycling.

    […] we hastened toward the bordering desert which marked our entrance into the realm of Tal Hajus.

    1912 February–July, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Under the Moons of Mars”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as chapter 16, in A Princess of Mars, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., October 1917, →OCLC, page 172

    Although the Second World War marked a turning away from inorganic chemicals as pesticides into the wonder world of the carbon molecule, a few of the old materials persist.

    1962, Rachel Carson, chapter 3, in Silent Spring, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, page 17

    My grandfather’s short employ at the Ford Motor Company marked the only time any Stephanides has ever worked in the automobile industry.

    2002, Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex, New York: Farrar, Straux, Giroux, page 93

    Synonyms: represent, see

13. To be typical or characteristic of (something).

    […] Cyril’s attitude to his mother was marked by a certain benevolent negligence

    1908, Arnold Bennett, The Old Wives’ Tale, New York: Modern Library, published 1911, Book 4, Chapter 1, p. 487

    2 more examples

    […] he still retained that simple, unostentatious elegance, that marks the man of real fashion—

    1818, Susan Ferrier, chapter 18, in Marriage, volume 3, Edinburgh: William Blackwood, page 264

    “Ah,” replied Roger Chillingworth, with that quietness which […] marked all his deportment,

    1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, chapter 9, in The Scarlet Letter, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC, page 145

    Synonyms: characterize, typify

14. To distinguish (one person or thing from another).

    Indeed the smoke was such they scarce could mark Their friends from foes,

    1823 July 15, [Lord Byron], Don Juan. Cantos VI.—VII.—and VIII., London: […] [C. H. Reynell] for John Hunt, […], →OCLC, canto VIII, stanza 130, page 313

    2 more examples

    Despite their obvious differences these poets had a common view of life which marks them from their predecessors […]

    1943, Maurice Bowra, chapter 1, in The Heritage of Symbolism, London: Macmillan, published 1954, page 2

    Each day was so like the day before, and Christmas Day, when it came, would not have anything to mark it from all the others.

    1983, Elizabeth George Speare, chapter 24, in The Sign of the Beaver,, New York: Dell, published 1984, page 127

15. dated except in the phrase "mark my words"To focus one's attention on (something or someone); to pay attention to, to take note of.

    Mark my words: that boy’s up to no good.

    5 more examples

    More are men’s ends mark’d than their lives before:

    1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene 1]

    I wonder that you will still be talking, Signior Benedick: nobody marks you.

    1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]

    Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 37:37

    When they had passed out of the wood into the pasture-land beyond, Ruth once more turned to mark him.

    1853, Elizabeth Gaskell, chapter 5, in Ruth, volume 1, London: Chapman and Hall, page 137

    “When Wolsey came down, I said, mark him, he’s a sharp fellow. […]”

    2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, New York: Henry Holt, Part 6, Chapter 2, p. 522

    Synonyms: heed, look at, observe, watch

16. datedTo become aware of (something) through the physical senses.

    Some of them [the Animals] coming forward near the place where I lay, gave me an opportunity of distinctly marking their Form.

    1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, (please specify |part=I to IV), page 161

    3 more examples

    He bent his eyes involuntarily upon the father as he spoke, and marked his uneasiness, for he coloured directly and turned his head away.

    1838 March – 1839 October, Charles Dickens, chapter 53, in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1839, →OCLC, page 525

    1881, John Bascom, “Improvements in Language” in The Western: A Journal of Literature, Education, and Art, New Series, Volume 7, No. 6, December, 1881, p. 499, […] it is to be remembered that a poor speller is a poor pronouncer. The ear does not mark the sound any more exactly than the eye marks the letters.

    Helm had a great horn, and soon it was marked that before he sallied forth he would blow a blast upon it that echoed in the Deep;

    1955, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Return of the King, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, published 1965, Appendix A, pp. 347-348

    Synonyms: hear, note, notice, observe, perceive, see

17. To hold (someone) in one's line of sight.

    I marked my man, standing on the catwalk, and waited to throw [my javelin] till he started to climb inboard before they rammed.

    1956, Mary Renault, chapter 22, in The Last of the Wine, New York: Pantheon, page 268

18. CanadaUKTo indicate the correctness of and give a score to (a school assignment, exam answers, etc.).

    The teacher had to spend her weekend marking all the tests.

    1 more example

    Under the proposals, an assurance is given that GBR (in the words of the plan) will not be marking its own homework.

    2024 May 15, 'Industry Insider', “Labour's plan for the railway”, in RAIL, number 1009, page 68

    Synonyms: grade, score

19. To record that (someone) has a particular status.

    to mark a student absent.

20. intransitivetransitiveTo keep account of; to enumerate and register; to keep score.

    to mark the points in a game of billiards or a card game

    1 more example

    Dan was to mark while the doctor and I played [billiards].

    1869, Mark Twain, chapter 12, in The Innocents Abroad, Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company, page 116

21. hobbiesTo follow a player not in possession of the ball when defending, to prevent them receiving a pass easily.
22. Australian rules footballTo catch the ball directly from a kick of 15 metres or more without having been touched in transit, resulting in a free kick.
23. golfTo put a marker in the place of one's ball.
24. singingTo sing softly, sometimes an octave lower than usual, in order to protect one's voice during a rehearsal.

plural marks · alternative obsolete marke · alternative obsolete merk · alternative obsolete marc

1. historicalA half pound, a traditional unit of mass equivalent to 226.8 g.

   Synonyms: marco, Spanish mark, marco, Portuguese mark

2. historicalSimilar half-pound units in other measurement systems, chiefly used for gold and silver.

   As a reward for his poetry, Athelstan gave Egil two more gold rings weighing a mark each, along with an expensive cloak that the king himself had worn.

   1997, “Egil's Saga”, in Bernard Scudder, transl., The Sagas of Icelanders, Penguin, published 2001, page 91

3. historicalA half pound, a former English and Scottish currency equivalent to 13 shillings and fourpence and notionally equivalent to a mark of sterling silver.

   He had been made a royal counsellor, drawing a substantial annual salary of a hundred marks.

   2011, Thomas Penn, Winter King, Penguin, published 2012, page 167

   1 more example

   George, on receiving it, instantly rose from the side of one of them, and said, in the hearing of them all, ‘I will bet a hundred merks that is Drummond.’

   1824, James Hogg, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Oxford, published 2010, page 42

4. historicalOther similar currencies notionally equal to a mark of silver or gold.

plural marks · alternative obsolete marke · alternative obsolete merk · alternative obsolete marc

1. historicalA former currency of Germany and West Germany.

   Aus der Geschichte der menschlichen Dummheit. By Dr. Max Kemmerich. Price 3 mark 50 pfennige. Bavaria: Verlag Albert Langen, Munich.

   1928 November, “Reviews”, in The Occult Review, volume XLVIII, number 5, London: Rider & Co., page 356

   Synonyms: Deutschmark, Deutsche Mark, German mark, Reichsmark

alternative obsolete marke · alternative obsolete merk · alternative obsolete marc

1. alternativeimperativemarchingAlternative form of march.

   Forward, mark!

   1 more example

   Mark time, mark!

plural Marks

1. countableuncountableA male given name from Latin.

   2 more examples

   "And your name?" she said, "I suppose it's quite unremarkable?" "Very funny." "Mark. It could stand as a symbol of a man, for men as a category," she reflected, "but I don't suppose that's why your mother gave it to you?" "My mother's motives always were impenetrable to me. I was her only child, she wanted a simple life. So she gave me a simple name to go along with it. --- It wasn't a popular name until the nineteenth century. People were put off by King Mark in the Tristram and Iseult."

   1988, Ann Oakley, Men's Room, pages 25–26

   One Nation, a new 501(c)4 linked to the Karl-Rove-backed American Crossroads super PAC, is spending more than $1.9 million on print, radio and digital ads highlighting the efforts of Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey to pass the “doc fix” legislation that realigned payments to Medicare providers with inflation.

   2015 May 12, Alexandra Jaffe, “First on CNN: New Rove-linked group spends $2M to boost GOP incumbents”, in CNN

   Synonyms: Marc, Marco, Marcos, Marko, Markos, Marq, Marque, Marcus

2. countableuncountableA surname.
3. countableuncountableMark the Evangelist, also called John Mark, the first patriarch of Alexandria, credited with the authorship of the Gospel of Mark.

   1 more example

   And Barnabas was determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought it not good to take him with them, who departed from them in Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder from the other; and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed to Cyprus.

   , Acts 15: 37-39

4. countableuncountablebiblicalThe Gospel of St. Mark, a book of the New Testament of the Bible. Traditionally the second of the four gospels.

   Synonyms: Mar.

5. countableuncountableA village and civil parish in Somerset, England, previously in Sedgemoor district (OS grid ref ST3747).

alternative Mark.

1. abbreviationastronomyAbbreviation of Markarian.

   Synonyms: Mkr, MKR, Mrk, MRK, Mkn, MKN