Advertisement

Origin and history of marked

marked(adj.)

"having a mark," Old English gemearcodan (see mark (v.)). Meaning "clearly defined, easy to distinguish" (pronounced as two syllables) is from 1795. Related: Markedly. Marked man "one who is watched with hostile intent" is from 1769.

Entries linking to marked

mark(v.)

"to put a mark on," Old English mearcian (West Saxon), merciga (Anglian) "to trace out boundaries;" in late Old English "make a mark or marks on," from Proto-Germanic *markojan (source also of Old Norse merkja, Old Saxon markon "appoint, observe, remark," Old Frisian merkia, Old High German marchon "to limit, plan out," German merken "to mark, note," Middle Dutch and Dutch merken "to set a mark on"), from the root of mark (n.1).

Influenced by the Scandinavian cognates. Meaning "to have a mark" is from c. 1400; that of "to notice, observe" is late 14c. Figurative sense of "designate as if by placing a mark on," hence "to destine," is from late Old English. Meaning "be a noteworthy feature of" is by 1660s. To mark time (1833) is from military drill, originally "move the feet as if marching but remain in place."

The verbs in Romanic are from the nouns, which are early borrowings from Germanic: Old French merchier "to mark, note, stamp, brand," French marquer "to mark," Spanish marcar, Italian marcare.

markedly(adv.)

"manifestly, noticeably," 1799, from marked + -ly (2). "A favorite 19th c. adverb" [OED].

    Advertisement

    More to explore

    brindled
    of horses, cows, dogs, etc., "marked with streaks, streaked with a darker color," 1670s, a variant of Middle English brended...The etymological sense of the adjective appears to be "marked as though by branding or burning."...
    meticulous
    Meticulous appears 1852 in Halliwell's "Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words" (with the definition "timorous") and is marked...It is marked archaic in the Imperial Dictionary (1883), which has only the sense "timid," but not so marked in Century Dictionary...
    rigorous
    early 15c., of persons, "strict, exacting, harsh, stern;" of laws, actions, etc., "marked by inflexibility, severe, exacting...
    dappled
    "spotted, marked with roundish spots of different colors or shades," early 15c., probably from a Scandinavian source akin..."marked with spots, having spots of different colors or shades" (1550s), dapple (n.)...
    rapscallion
    Rapscallionry "rascals collectively" is marked "[Rare.]" in Century Dictionary (1897); Galsworthy used rapscallionism....
    industrious
    1550s, "characterized by energy, effort, and attention; marked by industry," from French industrieux (c. 1500) and directly...
    recidivate
    Marked as obsolete in OED 2nd edition (1989). Related: Recidivated; recidivating....
    change
    c. 1200, "to alter, make different, change" (transitive); early 13c. as "to substitute one for another;" mid-13c. as "to make (something) other than what it was, cause to turn or pass from one state to another;" from late 13c. as "to become different, be altered" (intransitive),
    measure
    early 14c., mesuren, "to exercise moderation;" mid-14c., "to deal out or divide up by measure," also "to ascertain spatial dimensions, quantity, or capacity of by comparison with a standard;" from Old French mesurer "measure; moderate, curb" (12c.), from Late Latin mensurare "to
    star
    "celestial body appearing as a luminous point," Middle English sterre, from Old English steorra "star," from Proto-Germanic *sternan- (source also of Old Saxon sterro, Old Frisian stera, Dutch ster, Old High German sterro, German Stern, Old Norse stjarna, Swedish stjerna, Danish

    Share marked

    Advertisement
    Trending
    Dictionary entries near marked
    Advertisement