What is the difference between sign and mark?
sign | mark |
(sometimes, also used uncountably) A visible indication.
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5
, passage=Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, the consciousness dawning upon him that his eccentricity was not receiving the ovation it merited.}}
A clearly visible object, generally flat, bearing a short message in words or pictures.
* Macaulay
A traffic sign.
A meaningful gesture.
Any of several specialized non-alphabetic symbols.
(astrology) An astrological sign.
(mathematics) Positive or negative polarity.
A specific gesture or motion used to communicate by those with speaking or hearing difficulties; now specifically, a linguistic unit in sign language equivalent to word in spoken languages.
*, II.12:
* 2007 , Marcel Danesi, The Quest for Meaning :
(uncountable) Sign language in general.
An omen.
(medicine) A property of the body that indicates a disease and, unlike a symptom, is unlikely to be noticed by the patient.
A military emblem carried on a banner or standard.
To make a mark
#
#:The Queen signed her letter with the regal signet.
# To mark, to put or leave a mark on.
#*1726 , Elijah Fenton, The Odyssey of Homer :
#*:Meantime revolving in his thoughtful mind / The scar, with which his manly knee was sign'd […].
# To validate or ratify (a document) by writing one's signature on it.
#*c. 1597 , (William Shakespeare), The Merchant of Venice :
#*:Enquire the Iewes house out, giue him this deed, / And let him signe it […].
# More generally, to write one's signature on (something) as a means of identification etc.
#
#:Just sign your name at the bottom there.
#:I received a letter from some woman who signs herself ‘Mrs Trellis’.
# To write one's signature.
# To finalise a contractual agreement to work for a given sports team, record label etc.
#*2011 , The Guardian , (headline), 18 Oct 2011:
#*:Agents say Wales back Gavin Henson has signed for Cardiff Blues.
# To engage (a sports player, musician etc.) in a contract.
To make the sign of the cross
# To bless (someone or something) with the sign of the cross; to mark with the sign of the cross.
#* Book of Common Prayer
#*:We receive this child into the congregation of Christ's flock, and do sign him with the sign of the cross.
#*1971 , , Religion and the Decline of Magic , Folio Society 2012, p. 34:
#*:At the baptismal ceremony the child was […] signed with the cross in holy water.
# (reflexive) To cross oneself.
#*1855 , (Robert Browning), Men and Women :
#*:Shaking a fist at him with one fierce arm, / Signing himself with the other because of Christ.
To indicate
# To communicate using a gesture or signal.
#* Sir Walter Scott:
# To communicate using gestures to (someone).
#:He signed me that I should follow him through the doorway.
# To use sign language.
# To furnish (a road etc.) with signs.
(label) Boundary, land within a boundary.
#(obsolete) A boundary; a border or frontier.
#(obsolete) A boundary-post or fence.
#A stone or post used to indicate position and guide travellers.
#*1859 , Henry Bull, A history, military and municipal, of the ancient borough of the Devizes :
#*: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.
#(archaic) A type of small region or principality.
#*1954 , J R R Tolkien, The Two Towers :
#*:There dwells Théoden son of Thengel, King of the Mark of Rohan.
#(historical) A common, or area of common land, especially among early Germanic peoples.
(label) Characteristic, sign, visible impression.
#An omen; a symptomatic indicator of something.
#*1813 , Jane Austen, Pride And Prejudice :
#*: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.
#A characteristic feature.
#:A good sense of manners is the mark of a true gentleman.
#*1643 , Sir Thomas Browne, Religio Medici :
#*: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.
#A visible impression or sign; a blemish, scratch, or stain, whether accidental or intentional.
#*1897 , Bram Stoker, Dracula :
#*:Then she put before her face her poor crushed hands, which bore on their whiteness the red mark of the Count's terrible grip.
#A sign or brand on a person.
#*, III.iv.2.6:
#*: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.
#A written character or sign.
#:The font wasn't able to render all the diacritical marks properly.
#A stamp or other indication of provenance, quality etc.
#:With eggs, you need to check for the quality mark before you buy.
#*Knight
#*:The mark of the artisan is found upon the most ancient fabrics that have come to light.
#(obsolete) Resemblance, likeness, image.
#*c.1380 , Geoffrey Chaucer, ‘The Franklin's Tale’, Canterbury Tales :
#*:Which mankynde is so fair part of thy werk / That thou it madest lyk to thyn owene merk .
#A particular design or make of an item (now usually with following numeral).
#:Presentingmy patented travelator, mark two.
#A score for finding the correct answer, or other academic achievement; the sum of such point gained as out of a possible total.
#:What mark did you get in your history test?
(label) Indicator of position, objective etc.
#A target for shooting at with a projectile.
#*, II.1:
#*: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.
#*1786 , Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons , p.37:
#*: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.
#An indication or sign used for reference or measurement.
#:I filled the bottle up to the 500ml mark .
#The target or intended victim of a swindle, fixed game or con game.
#(obsolete) The female genitals.
#*1596 , William Shakespeare, Love's Labours Lost , I.4:
#*:A mark' saies my Lady. Let the ' mark haue a prick in't, to meate at, if it may be.
#*1749 , John Cleland, Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure , Penguin, 1985, p.68:
#*: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.
#(Australian rules football) A catch of the ball directly from a kick of 10 metres or more without having been touched in transit, resulting in a free kick.
#(sports) The line indicating an athlete's starting-point.
#A score for a sporting achievement.
#
#*1871 , Chicago Board of Education, Annual Report (vol.17, p.102)
#*:A mark for tardiness or for absence is considered by most pupils a disgrace, and strenuous efforts are made to avoid such a mark.
#(cooking) A specified level on a scale denoting gas-powered oven temperatures.
#:Now put the pastry in at 450 degrees, or mark 8.
#Limit or standard of action or fact.
#:to be within the mark'''; to come up to the '''mark
#Badge or sign of honour, rank, or official station.
#*Shakespeare
#*:In the official marks invested, you / Anon do meet the Senate.
#(archaic) Preeminence; high position.
#:patricians of mark'''; a fellow of no '''mark
#(logic) A characteristic or essential attribute; a differential.
#(nautical) One 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".)
(label) Attention.
#(archaic) Attention, notice.
#:His last comment is particularly worthy of mark .
#Importance, noteworthiness.
#*1909 , Richard Burton, Masters of the English Novel :
#*: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.
#(obsolete) Regard; respect.
#*Shakespeare
#*:as much in mock as mark
To put a mark upon; to make recognizable by a mark.
To indicate in some way for later reference.
To take note of.
* Bible, Psalms xxxvii. 37
To blemish, scratch, or stain.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=(Joseph Stiglitz)
, volume=188, issue=26, page=19, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= To indicate the correctness of and give a score to an essay, exam answers, etc.
To keep account of; to enumerate and register.
(Australian Rules football) To catch the ball directly from a kick of 15 metres or more without having been touched in transit, resulting in a free kick.
(sports) To follow a player not in possession of the ball when defending, to prevent them receiving a pass easily.
(golf) To put a marker in the place of one's ball.
A measure of weight (especially for gold and silver), once used throughout Europe, equivalent to 8 oz.
* 1997 , Bernard Scudder, translating ‘Egil's Saga’, in The Sagas of Icelanders , Penguin 2001, p. 91:
An English and Scottish unit of currency (originally valued at one mark weight of silver), equivalent to 13 shillings and fourpence.
* 2011 , Thomas Penn, Winter King , Penguin 2012, p. 167:
Any of various European monetary units, especially the base unit of currency of Germany between 1948 and 2002, equal to 100 pfennigs.
A mark coin.
(imperative, marching) (said to be easier to pronounce while giving a command ).
As nouns the difference between sign and mark
is that sign is a visible indication while mark is Boundary, land within a boundary.As verbs the difference between sign and mark
is that sign is to make a mark while mark is to put a mark upon; to make recognizable by a mark.As a proper noun Mark is
a given name derived from Latin.As an abbreviation Mark is
abbreviation of Markarian|lang=en.sign
English
(wikipedia sign)Etymology 1
From (etyl) signe, from (etyl) ; root uncertain.Noun
(en noun)- The shops were, therefore, distinguished by painted signs , which gave a gay and grotesque aspect to the streets.
- And why not, as well as our dumbe men dispute, argue and tell histories by signes ?
- In American Sign Language (ASL), for instance, the sign for 'catch' is formed with one hand (in the role of agent) moving across the body (an action) to grasp the forefinger of the other hand (the patient).
- (Milton)
Derived terms
* air sign * astrological sign * earth sign * fire sign * high sign * Indian sign * minus sign * neon sign * plus sign * road sign * sign language * sign of life * star sign * street sign * traffic sign * vital sign * water signEtymology 2
From (etyl) (seigner), (seiner) et al., (etyl) signer et al., and their source, (etyl) ; see Etymology 1, above. Compare (sain).Verb
(en verb)- I forgot to sign that letter to my aunt.
- Please sign on the dotted line.
- It was a great month. I managed to sign three major players.
- I signed to Browne to make his retreat.
Derived terms
* sign in * signing bonus * sign off * sign on * sign over * sign out * sign up * sign one's life awayExternal links
* *Anagrams
*mark
English
(wikipedia mark)Alternative forms
* marke (obsolete) * merk (obsolete)Etymology 1
From (etyl) mark, merk, merke, from (etyl) . Compare march.Noun
(en noun)Synonyms
(a particular design or make) * Mk (abbreviation) * (abbreviation)Derived terms
* beauty mark * bench-mark/benchmark * birthmark * black mark * bookmark * certification mark * chatter mark * check mark * chop mark * cue mark * diacritical mark * exclamation mark * full marks * funnel mark * gas mark * hash mark * high-water mark * laundry mark * leave one's mark * make one's mark * markstone * miss the mark * off the mark * on your marks * Plimsoll mark * punctuation mark * question mark * quotation mark * reference mark * remark * ripple mark * scuff mark * sea mark * service mark * strawberry mark * stress mark * stretch mark * tempo mark * touchmark / touch-mark * trade mark / trade-mark / trademark * vaccination mark * wide of the markVerb
(en verb)- to mark a box or bale of merchandise
- to mark clothing with one's name
- This monument marks the spot where Wolfe died.
- His courage and energy marked him as a leader.
- Mark the perfect man.
- See where this pencil has marked the paper.
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- to mark the points in a game of billiards or a card game
Synonyms
* (indicate correctness and give score) (l), (l)Derived terms
(Terms derived from the verb "mark") * man-mark * mark-down * mark down * marked * marker * marking * mark my words * mark off * mark out * mark time * mark up * mark-up * press-mark * unmarked * X marks the spotEtymology 2
From (etyl) mark, from (etyl) .Noun
(en noun)- 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.
- He had been made a royal counsellor, drawing a substantial annual salary of a hundred marks .
Synonyms
* (German currency) (l), (l), (l)See also
* convertible mark * Deutsche Mark, Deutschmark * markka * ReichsmarkEtymology 3
Verb
(head)- Mark time, mark !
- Forward, mark !