MARK  , a word of which the

principal meanings are in their probable order of development,—boundary, an object set up to indicate a boundary or position; hence a sign or token, impression or trace . The word in O . Eng. is mearc, and appears in all Teutonic languages, cf . Du. merk, Ger . Mark, boundary, marke, sign, impression; Romanic languages have borrowed the word, cf . Fr. marque, Ital. marca . Cognate forms outside Teutonic have been found in Lat. margo, " margin," and Pers. marz, boundary . Others would refer to the Lith. margas, striped, parti-coloured, and Sanskrit marga, trace, especially of hunted game . In the sense of boundary, or a tract of country on or near a boundary or frontier, " mark " in English usage proper is obsolete, and " march " (q.v.) has established itself . It still remains, however, to represent the German mark, a tract of land held in common by a village community (see MARK SYSTEM), and also historically the name of certain principalities, such as the mark of Brandenburg . The Italian marca is also sometimes rendered by " mark," as in the mark of Ancona . ' Mark is also the name of a modern silver coin of the German empire .

This is apparently a distinct word and not of Teutonic origin; it is found in all Teutonic and Romanic languages, Latinized as marca or

marcus . The mark was originally a measure of weight only for gold and silver and was common throughout western Europe and was equivalent to 8 oz . The variations, however, throughout the middle ages were considerable (see Du Cange, Gloss. med. et infim . Lat., s.v . Marca for a full list) . In England the " mark " was never a coin, but a money of account only, and apparently came into use in the loth century through the Danes . It first was taken as equal to too pennies, but after the Norman Conquest was equal to 16o pennies (20 pennies to the oz.) =1 of the pound sterling, or 13s . 4d., and therefore in Scotland 131d . English; the mark (merk) Scots was a silver coin of this value, issued first in 1570 and afterwards in 1663 . The modern German mark was adopted in 1873 as the standard of value and the money of account . It is of the value of 6.146 grains of gold, 900 fine, and is equal to English standard gold of the value of 11.747 pence . The modern silver coin, nearly equal in value to the English shilling, was first issued in 1875 .