1. A character, usually in the form of a cross, made as a substitute for his signature by a person who cannot write, in executing a conveyance or other legal docu- ment. It is commonly made as follows: A third person writes the name of the marks- man, leaving a blank space between the Christian name and surname; in this space the latter traces the mark, or crossed lines, and above the mark is writteu “his,” (or “her,”) and below it, “mark.” 2. The sign, writing, or ticket put upon manufactured goods to distinguish them from others, appearing thus in the compound, “trade-mark.” 3. A token, evidence, or proof; as In the phrase “a mark of fraud.” 4. A weight used iu several parts of Europe, and for several commodities , especially gold and silver. When gold and silver are sold by the mark, it Is divided into twenty- four carats. 5. A money of accounts in England, and in some other countries a coin. The English mark is two-thirds of a pound sterling, or 13s. 4d.; and the Scotch mark is of equal value in Scotch money of account. Enc. Amer. 6. In early Teutonic and English law. A species of village community, being the lowest unit in the political system ; one of the forms of the gens or clan, variously known as the “mark,” “gemeinde,” “com- iii line.” or “parish.” Also the land held in common by such a community. The union of several such village communities and their marks, or common lands, forms the next higher political union, the hundred. Freem. Coinpar. Politics, 110, 117. 7. The word is sometimes used as another form of “marque,” a license of reprisals.
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
