Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “mark” come from?

mark (Middle English) comes from Old English mearc, from Proto-West Germanic marku, from Proto-Germanic markō, from Proto-Indo-European morǵ- — edge, boundary, border; frontier, border.

Ancestry of “mark”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishmearcmark, sign, character; boundary, limit
2Proto-West Germanicmarkuboundary, border
3Proto-Germanicmarkōborder, boundary; region, area
4Proto-Indo-Europeanmorǵ-edge, boundary, border; frontier, border

Words derived from “mark”

  • marked
  • mark
  • marking
  • marker
  • trademark
  • markedly
  • benchmark
  • TM
  • hallmark
  • unmarked
  • watermark
  • biomarker
  • marksman
  • postmark
  • markedness
  • marksmanship
  • birthmark
  • Markland
  • earmark
  • checkmark
  • markdown
  • markable
  • footmark
  • checkmarks
Every word from Proto-Indo-European morǵ- →