marquer

Pronunciation

• IPA: /maʁ.ke/^[1]

Forms

marquer^[1] Old French merchier (1121, Anglo-Norman, Norman, Picard), merquier (late 12th century); marquer from 1456.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is a dialect variant of Old French merchier (“to put a mark on”), still used in the 16th century, formed on merc (“mark”), from Old Norse merki (“mark, boundary”).^{[2][3][5][4][6][1][7]} The /a/ is probably due to marcher in its old sense “to press, tread on”, and perhaps also to Italian marcare (“to mark”) (13th century), from “marca”, of Germanic origin.^[2][5][6][1]

Compare Old Occitan marcar, Spanish marcar and Portuguese marcar.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

An archive of the Nord (1456) uses it for making a thing recognizable by a mark.^[9][2] The old form is in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence (about 1174): mais primes le merkeit “but first he marked him”.^[8]

Semantic evolution

Palsgrave (1530) has “to notice”, a sense now left to remarquer, Robert Estienne (1531) has “to leave a visible mark” and “to note in writing”, and marquer un jour de craye blanche (1557) became marquer d'une pierre blanche.^[9][2] From card games, marquer les points (1690), came marquer un point (1876) and, after English to mark, marquer un but (1900); in sport it also means to guard an opponent (1892).^[9][2] Slang marquer le coup meant to clink glasses (1866), later to react (1919).^[2]

It also came to mean to indicate, of a measuring instrument (1694), to emphasize (1669, Racine), and to leave a lasting impression (La Bruyère).^[9][2] In the 17th century ne plus marquer was said of someone growing old, from the teeth by which a horse's age is told.^[2]

Timeline

• 1121 – Old French merchier.^[2]
• 1456 – Marquer.^[9]
• 1531 – “To leave a mark; to note”, Robert Estienne.^[9]
• 1557 – Marquer un jour de craye blanche.^[9]
• 1690 – Marquer les points, Furetière.^[9]
• 1892 – To guard an opponent.^[9]
• 1900 – To score a goal.^[9]

Meanings

Verb

1. To mark, put a mark on: marquer le linge; to brand: marquer au fer rouge.^[6][1]
2. To note, write down: marquer un rendez-vous dans son agenda.^[9][1]
3. To show, indicate: l'horloge marque midi; to mark (an event): marquer d'une pierre blanche.^[9][1]
4. To leave a lasting impression on: cette rencontre l'a marqué.^[2][1]
5. (sport) To score: marquer un but; to guard (an opponent).^[9][1]
6. To emphasize: marquer la mesure, marquer le pas, marquer le coup, to mark the occasion, react.^[2][1]

Word family

• marque
• marqueur
• démarquer
• remarquer
• remarquable

Related words

• marcher
• marge

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 551b
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard