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marca

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marca1 boundary, march

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈmar.ka][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈmar.ka][1]

Forms

marca f (genitive marcae); first declension; also spelled marcha, marka, markia, marchia and margia.[2]

Etymology

The boundary word is borrowed from Frankish *marku (“boundary, border”).[1] Köbler likewise takes it as a borrowing from Germanic, from Proto-Germanic *markō (“boundary”), which he traces to Proto-Indo-European *mereǵ- (“edge, border”),[3] and the TLL and Niermeyer call it a Germanic word.[4][2] Wiktionary calls it a doublet of margō.[1]

The English march “borderland” comes through Old French marche (“boundary, frontier”) from Frankish or another Germanic source.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL's earliest example is from the chronicle of Marius of Avenches, under the year 581, where someone takes refuge “in the march of King Childebert”.[4]

Semantic evolution

In the early medieval laws and capitularies it meant a boundary mark, a boundary or frontier, and the borderland beyond it,[2][3] and an old gloss explains marchas regni as the outer limits of the kingdom.[4] From the borderland it came to mean a frontier district under the command of a margrave, a march or margravate,[2][1] and more generally any circumscribed territory, including woodland or waste held in common or as an estate.[2] In British sources it is also a mark of ownership or a sign, and a country or territory.[6]

The medieval word continues in Italian marca.[7]

Timeline

  • 643 onwards – The laws of the Lombards use it.[3]
  • 712–725? – It appears in the laws of the Alamanni, and before 743 in those of the Bavarians.[3]
  • 1012–1018 – Thietmar writes that Bolizlavs invaded “the whole march of Count Gero” on this side of the Elbe.[8][3]
  • 1220 – An English court record tells of a mare recognised by its mark, a slit in the ear.[6]
  • early 13th century – English march “frontier, border district” appears, from Old French.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A boundary mark.[2][6]
  2. A boundary, limit.[2][6][1]
  3. A frontier; a borderland.[2][1]
  4. A march, a border district governed by a margrave.[2][1][8]
  5. A circumscribed territory; a country, land.[2][6]
  6. Woodland or waste land used in common or held as an estate.[2]
  7. A mark of ownership, a sign.[6]

marca2 mark (weight)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈmar.ka][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈmar.ka][1]

Forms

marca f (genitive marcae); first declension; also marcha, marha and masculine marcus.[2][6]

Etymology

The weight is also a Germanic word.[2] Köbler derives it from Proto-Germanic *markam (“mark, sign”), which he traces to the same root Proto-Indo-European *mereǵ- (“edge, border”) as the boundary word,[3] and the DMLBS compares Old English marc.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest record is in charters of about 720.[3]

Semantic evolution

It was a weight of gold or silver, and so also a unit of money: the DMLBS distinguishes marks sterling, Scottish marks and those of Cologne and Stralsund.[2][6] Medieval glossaries defined it variously: Papias as a pound of silver, others as two thirds of a royal pound,[9] and the humanist Aventinus as eight ounces.[10] In Hungary, Poland and Bohemia it was likewise the standard weight and money of account.[11][8][12] In Britain it also measured commodities such as bread and metal.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 720 – It appears in charters.[3]
  • c. 960 – An English charter, in a 14th-century copy, grants a mark of gold.[6]
  • c. 1075 – Adam of Bremen uses it.[3]
  • 1192 – A Lesser Poland charter records church property bought for 225 marks.[8]
  • 1442 – An English letter sends five marks in gold.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A mark, a weight of gold or silver.[2][6][11]
  2. A mark as a unit of money or of account.[6][11][8]
  3. A measure of other commodities, such as bread.[6]

Usage notes

Wiktionary also records marca as a medieval form of merx, “seized goods”;[1] Niermeyer has a third marca, goods seized by way of reprisal, whose origin Köbler leaves unexplained.[2][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c d e Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  9. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  10. ^ Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
  11. ^ a b c Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
  12. ^ Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences