The Mark (from

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...

: Marc, march, brand) is originally a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

weight or mass unit, which supplanted the pound weight as a

precious metals Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value. Chemically, the precious metals tend to be less reactive than most elements (see noble metal). They are usually ductile and have a high lu ...

and

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic 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 t ...

age weight from 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 customa ...

s or 16 lots. The Cologne mark corresponded to about 234

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

s. Like the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

systems, the French poids de marc weight system considered one "Marc" equal to 8 troy ounces. Just as the pound of 12 troy ounces (373 g) lent its name to the pound unit of currency, the mark lent its name to the

mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * F ...

unit of currency.

Origin of the term

The

Etymological Dictionary of the German Language The ''Etymological Dictionary of the German Language'' (german: Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache) is a reference book for the history of the German language, and was one of the first books of its kind ever written. Originally written ...

Friedrich Kluge Friedrich Kluge (21 June 1856 – 21 May 1926) was a German philologist and educator. He is known for the Kluge etymological dictionary of the German language (''Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache''), which was first published in 1 ...

derives the word from the

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic bran ...

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

Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...

''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 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 procedure of sha ...

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 ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...

, 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