The Mark (from

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

: Marc, march, brand) is originally a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

weight or mass unit, which supplanted the

pound Pound or Pounds may refer to: Units * Pound (currency), various units of currency * Pound sterling, the official currency of the United Kingdom * Pound (mass), a unit of mass * Pound (force), a unit of force * Rail pound, in rail profile * A bas ...

weight as a

precious metals Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value. Precious metals, particularly the noble metals, are more corrosion resistant and less chemically reactive than most elements. They are usual ...

and

coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

age weight in parts of Europe in the 11th century. The Mark is traditionally divided into 8

ounce The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight, or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman unit of measurement. The avoirdupois ounce (exactly ) is avoirdupois pound; this is the United States ...

s or 16

lots Lot, LOT, The Lot or similar may refer to: Common meanings Areas *Land lot, an area of land *Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *A Quantity, great many of something, as in, "There are a lot of beetles," or "T ...

. The

Cologne mark The Cologne mark is an obsolete unit of weight (or mass) equivalent to 233.856 grams (about 3,609 grains). The Cologne mark was in use from the 11th century onward. It came to be used as the base unit for a number of currency standards, including ...

corresponded to about 234

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined in 1795 as "the absolute Mass versus weight, weight of a volume ...

s. Like the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

systems, the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

poids de marc weight system considered one "Marc" equal to 8 troy ounces. Just as the

of 12 troy ounces (373 g) lent its name to the

unit of currency, the mark lent its name to the

mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

unit of currency.

Origin of the term

The

Etymological Dictionary of the German Language The ''Etymological Dictionary of the German Language'' (), sometimes referred to simply as ''Kluge'', was published by Friedrich Kluge in 1883. It was the first German etymological dictionary based on Neogrammarian principles. Over the following ...

Friedrich Kluge Friedrich Kluge (21 June 1856 – 21 May 1926) was a German philologist and educator. He is known for the ''Etymological Dictionary of the German Language'' (), which was first published in 1883. Biography Kluge was born in Cologne. He studied ...

derives the word from the

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic languages, Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from ...

term ''marka'', "weight and value unit" (originally "division, shared"). The etymological dictionary by

Wolfgang Pfeifer Wolfgang Pfeifer (born July 3, 1935) is a German former footballer. He won two caps for the East Germany national football team, East Germany national team at the end of the 1950s. In the DDR-Oberliga, East German top division he appeared 28 ...

sees the

Old High German Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...

''marc'', "delimitation, sign", as the stem and assumes that ''marc'' originally meant "minting" (marking of a certain weight), later denoting the

ingot An ingot is a piece of relatively pure material, usually metal, that is Casting, cast into a shape suitable for further processing. In steelmaking, it is the first step among semi-finished casting products. Ingots usually require a second procedu ...

itself and its weight, and finally a coin of a certain weight and value. According to an 1848 trade lexicon, the term ''Gewichtsmark'' comes from the fact that "the piece of metal used for weighing was stamped with a sign or symbol". Meyer's 1905 Konversationslexikon similarly derives the origin of the word to the emergence of the mark from the Roman pound of to 11

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

, as King of the Franks, carried out a monetary and measures reform towards the end of the 8th century. In particular, he had introduced the '' Karlspfund'' ("Charles pound") as the basic unit of coinage and trade which, however, weighed only 8 ounces. In order to prevent a further reduction in the weight of a pound, a sign, the ''mark'', was now stamped on the new weights. The actual weight of these weights, known as ''marca'', is said to have fluctuated between 196 g and 280 g.''Meyers Konversationslexikon'', 1905. Volume 1
-1905/K/meyers-1905-013-0317 p. 317
(digital copy).

References

Units of mass Obsolete units of measurement Units of measurement of the Holy Roman Empire {{measurement-stub