Mark

Source : Wright, Joseph English Dialect Dictionary

MARK, sb.1 and v. Var. dial. uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. Aus. and Amer. [mark, māk.] 1. sb. In phr. (1) mark nor horn, used neg.: nothing at all, not a vestige; (2) mark of mouth, of horses: the power of showing age by the teeth; fig. youth; (3) in mark, of a horse: young enough to show its age by its teeth; (4) out of mark, beyond the time when the age is shown by the teeth; (5) mickle (or little) mark, much (or little) in evidence; (6) to be a mark on, to be fond of; (7) to wear the marks of any one, to be struck by any one, to bear the marks of a blow. (1) Gall. When one loses anything and finds it not again, we are said never to see mark nor burn of it again: it is a shepherd's phrase, as he burns the sheep with a red hot iron on the horns and nose, to enable him to know it, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). (2) Gall. Old maidens are said sometimes to have lost the mark o' mouth, MACTAGGART Encycl.; Ye see I've near lost mark o' mouth, And lasses aye are fond o' youth, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 59, ed. 1897. [Aus. Any way she was very old, and long past mark of mouth, Longman's Mag. (Sept. 1899) 417. Amer. There are some standin rules about the horse... There's the mark o' mouth, Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836) 2nd S. iii.] (3) w.Som.1 (4) w.Som.1 How old d'ee call thik 'oss? ─ Same age as other vokeses, when they be out o' mark. (5) Abd. My toilet, indeed, it was nae mickle mark, Edwards Mod. Sc. Poets, 13th S. 292. (6) Ess. ‘Jim olluz was a mark,’ she säy, ‘on pork,’ Downe Ballads (1895) 29; A mark on swearin? Ah, sir, that he be, DOWNE Ballads 31. (7) Kcd. ‘Tak' that,’ quo' he, ‘ye careless shard, I'se gar ye wear my marks,’ Grant Lays (1884) 7. 2. A conspicuous figure. Sh.I. Lowrie wis den a mark i' da kirk, Sh. News (Apr. 9, 1898). Hence (1) Marked, ppl. adj. distinguished, prominent; (2) Markless, adj. without distinction, not remarkable. (1) Sc. He's come o' a gude stock... The Livingstones o' this parish were marked men in the auld days, Whitehead Daft Davie (1876) 340, ed. 1894. (2) n.Yks.2 3. A supposed invulnerable spot formed by the Devil on the body of a witch. Also called The Devil's mark. Sc. They searched him for ‘the Devil's mark,’ which was supposed to keep him silent. This was found under his tongue. He then confessed everything they wished, Cornh. Mag. (Nov. 1898) 656; Alexander Boys, skilled in searching the mark, came, and finds the mark in the middle of her back, wherein he thrust a great brass pin, of which she was not sensible, neither did any blood follow when the pin was drawn out, Cornh. Mag. 663. Cai. That upon a vulgar report of witches having the devil's marks in their bodies, Andrews Bygone Ch. Life (1899) 182. Per. A small hole horny and brown coloured, through which mark when a large brass pin was thrust till it was bowed, the witches, both men and women, neither felt a pain, nor did it bleed, Ritchie St. Baldred (1883) 101. Ayr. A notour witch-finder... searched Bessie for the mark, as the poor ignorant bodies ca'd it, and which every witch was supposed to have. This search was neither more nor less than the jagging of her all over with lang sharp preens, to see if peradventure ony painless part could be found, and which wouldna bleed, Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 69. e.Lth. Her body was examined and the mark of the Devil found upon her throat. It was believed that Satan put a mark upon all who had enlisted into his service, which mark was recognisable by the part being bloodless and insensible to pain, Sands Tranent (1881) 39; The searcher in Tranent cam and found the mark on those that were suspect of witchcraft, Andrews Bygone Ch. Life (1899) 186. 4. An aim in shooting; also used fig. Sc. Praying the Lord, ye may stand to your marke, Maidment Pasquils (1868). Fif. Ilka man took well his mark, Tennant Papistry (1827) 197. Ayr. Now, Lord hae mercy on the man That Patrick tak's a mark at, Ainslie Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 130. 5. A male sweetheart, an admirer. Lan. (S.K.C.) 6. The figured side of a knife. w.Yks.2 7. pl. The footprints of an otter. ne.Lan.1 8. Comp. (1) Mark-ash, a boundary ash; (2) Mark-oak, a boundary oak; (3) Mark-stone, a stone set up to mark the boundaries of land; see March, sb.2; (4) Mark-way, a track to enable the holders of the divisions of land in a common field to have access to them. (1) Hmp.1 (2) Hmp. Wise New Forest (1883) 284; Hmp.1 So called from the ancient cross or mark cut on the rind. (3) Gall. Stones set up on end for marks in the days of yore, that the farmers might know the marches of their farms, and lairds the boundaries of their lands, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). (4) w.Mid. Before the Acts enclosing the common fields the holders of the shots into which they were divided had access to their property by means of tracks called ‘markways.’ The word is still well remembered by old people (W.P.M.). 9. A wide gutter. Dev. (Hall.) 10. v. In phr. (1) to mark for, to betoken, give promise of, to show signs of becoming; (2) mark in, in shooting: to note where the birds fall; (3) mark on or upon, to make an impression upon; (4) mark a finger on or upon, to do the smallest injury to, to touch in the smallest degree; (5) mark a foot to the ground, (6) mark the ground, to set foot to the ground. (1) Dor.1 'E da mark var to be tall. w.Som.1 Thick there colt do mark vor a strong, useful sort of a 'oss. Dev. Thick cheeld da mark-vor a bedd'r man than's father, Pulman Sketches (1842) 114, ed. 1871. (2) nw.Dev.1 When shooting birds (i.e. partridges) it is customary to send a boy to an elevated point to mark in, i.e. to observe and note, for the information of the sportsmen, where the birds drop. (3) Bnff.1 Twa men vrought a hail day tryin' t'brack that big haithen stane; bit they cudna mark-upon't. Cld. (Jam.) (4) Bnff.1 Gehn ye mark a finger on 'im, a'll gee ye yir cum-agehn. Cld. (Jam.) (5) Cld. He is sae weak that he canna mark a fit to the grund. He's beginnin' to recruit, for he can now mark his fit to the grund (Jam.). (6) Sc. (A.W.) N.I.1 He could hardly mark the ground. 11. Of a horse or stag: to reveal its age by the teeth or horns. w.Som.1 He do mark vower off ─ i.e. he is between four and five years old. 12. Of dogs: to give tongue, to indicate where the quarry has taken refuge underground. w.Som.1 The hounds... marked grandly in deep water, under the wood, and moved what was no doubt the dog otter, Wellington Wkly. News (July 21, 1887). 13. To take aim in shooting. Lth. Baith far an' near this lad is ken'd That he can mark right fair, Thomson Poems (1819) 187.

MARK, sb.2 Sc. Also in form merk. [mark, merk.]

1. Obs. A silver coin worth 13s. 4d. Scots, equivalent to 13⅓d. sterling. Sc. My sma' means whilk are not aboon twenty thousand merk, Scott Waverley (1814) xxxvi. n.Sc. I'll gie ye five merks, Buchan Ballads (ed. 1875) II. 231. Bnff. He enjoys annually 300 merks Scotch from a Mortification, Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 16. Abd. Her father... O' some four acres held a tack For three merks an' a croon, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 183. Frf. Wou'd fortune for me niest lay by A score o' merks to stop my cry, Morison Poems (1790) 98. Fif. No ass of any great repute For twenty Scots marks could have then been bought, Tennant Anster (1812) 19, ed. 1871. s.Sc. Those naked katherans, to whom a single merk would be a fortune, Wilson Tales (1839) V. 2. Dmb. Twa merks, they said, wad coft a pair o' shoon, Taylor Poems (1827) 90. Rnf. I've sin some thretty mark a year, Finlayson Rhymes (1815) 103. Ayr. Plack, bodle, mark, and bawbie, Galt Lairds (1826) ii. Edb. No less than six thousand merks Scots money, Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 44, ed. 1815. Dmf. Were it a merk or a boddle broon, The siller was there when the day cam' roon, Reid Poems (1894) 76. Gall. Whose keen care for the merks, the duties, and the tacks, Crockett Grey Man (1896) 119. Wgt. Ten marks Scots, left by the deceased Jannet McAdam.. to the poor of this parish, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 15.

2. A division of land varying in extent; also in comp. Mark-land. Sc. The common burdens were laid on, not according to the retour or merk land, but the valuation of the rents, Baillie Lett. (1775) I. 370 (Jam.). Sh.I. The lands are understood to be divided into merks. A merk of land, however, does not consist uniformly of a certain area. In some instances, a merk may be less than an acre; in others, perhaps, equal to two acres. Every merk again consists of so much arable ground, and of another part which is only fit for pasturage... Several of these merks, sometimes more, sometimes fewer, form a town, Statist. Acc. V. 195, note (JAM.); The markland in Shetland was of varying extent. In Delting the mark is estimated as 0.7 acre; at Lerwick a mark is not nearly a Scottish acre; at Unst a mark might be less than one or equal to two. In Dunrossness a merkland ‘ought to contain 1600 square fathoms’; at Fetlar a mark is estimated at half an acre; in North Yell a quarter acre, Sh. News (Apr. 30, 1898); The ancient valuation was disused and the skat assessed on the marks in the pennyland... From the analogy of the Orkneys an average mark would be the fourth part of a pennyland, and as a ‘last’ of land contained eighteen marks, a last was 4¼d. land, i.e. the fourth part of an ounceland. A markland was divided into eight ores, or ounces... The mark of land was the unit, for.. yearly rent, Sh. News Or.I. He laid a heavier ratement on the fractions of every markland, then on the markland itself, Wallace Desc. Or. I. (1693) 237, ed. 1883; These penny-lands are again divisible into smaller denominations of merks or merk-lands, farthing-lands, and cows-worths, Peterkin Notes (1822) 6; Nae less than twa marks o' laund... Twa marks o' laund; that wad keep twa coos, an' twa mares an' twa rools, Fergusson Rambles (1884) 162. Inv. Slait is thirty merkland, Maidment Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-1845) II. 355. Arg. The denomination of mark lands still holds in common speech, and in general one mark-land may give full employ to one plough and one family in the more arable parts of the county, Agric. Surv. 33 (Jam.). Fif., Slg. N. & Q. (1853) 1st S. vii. 618. Rnf. Yr is ane second feu contract of ane merkland of ye said lands, Hector Judic. Records (1876) 303. Hence (1) Mark-merkland, sb. a division of land varying from one to three acres; (2) Mark-stones, sb. pl. stones used to define the limits of a ‘mark’ of land. (1) Sh.&Ork.1 (2) Sh.I. [The mark's] exact limits being described by loose stones or shells under the name of merk-stanes, Hibbert Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 35, ed. 1891.

3. Obs. A nominal weight. Also in comp. Mark-weight. Sh.I. Eight pieces of this description of cloth [wadmel], each measuring six ells, constituted a mark. (In the seventeenth century, however, the name of a mark of wadmel became entirely obsolete owing to the custom introduced of converting it into money. ... The eighth part of a mark of this coarse cloth then acquired the name of a shilling of wadmel), Hibbert Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 35, ed. 1891; A newer standard of comparison had succeeded to the wadmel, formed of a certain weight of some inferior metal. The division, therefore, of a mark-weight of this substance into eight ures or ounces appears to have suggested a name for the same number of portions into which a mark of land began to be resolved, HUBBERT Desc. Sh. I.; Sixpenny land pays to the proprietor 8 merks butter, Statist. Acc. VII. 580 (Jam.). Or.I. 24 merks make one setting, nearly equal to 1 stone 5 lib. Dutch, Statist. Acc. 477; The least quantity is called a merk (which will be eighteen ounce). Twenty-four merk makes a liespound or setten, Wallace Desc. Or. I. (1693) 41, ed. 1883; The malt, meill, and beare are delivered in Orknay be wecht... 24 marks makis an setting, Skene Difficill Wds. (1681) 130; Sh.&Ork.1 [1., 3. By this gaude have I wonne... An hundred mark, Chaucer C. T. C. 390. OFr. marc, ‘quantité’ d'or, d'argent pesant un ‘marc’ (huit onces) (Hatzfeld); MLG. mark, ‘(Geld)-gewicht, ein halbes Pfund’ (Schiller-Lübben).]

   MARK, sb.3 Dur. Yks. Lin. Dev. 1. In comb. (1) Mark('s e'en, or St. Mark's eve, the eve of St. Mark's day, see below; (2) Mark, Luke, and John, a four-post bed of which one leg is broken or gone. (1) Dur. ‘What for should you die any more than me myself?’ ‘Because I've had my warning! I've had plain proof I shall... I seed my own waft go into the kirk last St. Mark's eve, and it never cam' out no more,’ Longman's Mag. (July 1897) 252. n.Yks. The custom of observing Mark's-e'en... by watching in the church porch, Simpson Jeanie o' Biggersdale (1893) 221; n.Yks.1 Perhaps scarcely extinct even yet. The watch in the church-porch for the purpose of ascertaining who among the parishioners is to be carried to his long home in the churchyard during the ensuing year, is still spoken of as matter of recollection, if not of these days' practice. The duly gifted watcher, according to some, would see all his fellow-inhabitants proceed into the church, and defile thence again in long procession, leaving only such behind them as were auned to death before another Mark's-e'en: according to others, the procession into the church would be formed only of the shapes of the doomed ones, who pass into the church, but do not return thence. Another form of the notion is, to watch by a window which commands the church-road, when the figures of those who are to die within the year will be seen to pass as if ‘boun for cho'ch.’ Should the watcher, however, fall asleep at the mystic hour of vision (midnight) he is himself among those whose death is auned; n.Yks.4 e.Yks. The apparitions of those who shall die in the ensuing year, are seen to walk to the church where they shall be buried: certain persons, ‘watching the kirk’ to know the fate of their fellow parishioners. If the watcher go to sleep at the critical moment he himself is doomed to die within the year, Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II. 332. Lin. In the year 1634, two men... agreed betwixt themselves upon St. Marke's Eve at night, to watch in the church porch at Burton to try whether or noe... they should see the spectras or phantomes of those persones which should die in that parish the yeare following, Edb. Antiq. Mag. (1848) 82. (2) e.Dev. Old Betty was under her ‘Mark, Luke, and John,’ Blackmore Perlycross (1894) xii.

MARK, MARKAL, see Mirk, Mercal.