Marion K. Sanders
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The Golden History of Hallmark
In the year 1300, King Edward I of England (His Excellency also known most excellently as "Edward Longshanks") established a standard for gold and silver to ensure quality and prevent fraud. Thereafter precious metals had to be tested and approved by master craftsmen (and given the mark of a leopard's head) before being sold. Over the ensuing centuries, many London artisans brought their finished metal goods to Goldsmiths' Hall, where the Goldsmiths' Company had a charter to grant their unique mark of approval to wares that met standards of purity. (The process is much the same today.) At first, people used hallmark to name that mark of excellence from Goldsmiths' Hall, but over the years the word came to refer to any mark guaranteeing purity or genuineness, and eventually to any distinguishing characteristic, trait, or feature.
Synonyms
Examples of hallmark in a Sentence
Aniruddha Ghosal, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024
Rolling with change, and also paving some along the way, has been a hallmark of Chu’s career.
—Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Apr. 2024
Broadening the Church’s mission has been a hallmark of Bartholomew’s career.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
Depriving people of the right to make the most basic decisions about their bodies and lives is deeply undemocratic and a hallmark of authoritarian regimes worldwide.
—Serena Mayeri, TIME, 9 Apr. 2024
Scott, with producers Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Eric Robinson at The Gotham Group, and Scott Stuber are bringing together a superb team to ensure that this project has the vision and soul that have been the hallmark of Bruce’s 55-year career.
—Katcy Stephan, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
Shots have longer to breathe, a welcome change compared to the whiplash camera cuts that were a hallmark of TV broadcasts under the company’s former head of production, Kevin Dunn.
—Chris Welch, The Verge, 8 Apr. 2024
Loneliness is one of the main hallmarks of contemporary life.
—Lisa Wong MacAbasco, Vogue, 5 Apr. 2024
In an unstable world, stability has become the hallmark of a good employer, but a truly great place to work also offers flexibility and a healthy respect for individuality to boot.
—Chloe Berger, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2024
Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 26 Jan. 2024
The Spurs’ practice gym was quiet Monday, save for the dull drone of conversation and the occasional click of a camera shutter that hallmark an NBA media day.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 28 Sep. 2021
In normal circumstances, the teenage experience is hallmarked by big emotions.
—Jennifer Folsom, NBC News, 2 Apr. 2020
Holidays, inasmuch as they are illustrated by their ornaments and decorations, are also hallmarked by their customary foods, which spangle around festive table centerpieces as the true spectacle of the occasions.
—Myles Poydras, The Atlantic, 5 Jan. 2020
Byrne recalled her brother’s sense of humor, hallmarked an uncanny ability to impersonate anyone.
—Michael Brice-Saddler, Washington Post, 1 Sep. 2019
Despite a season hallmarked by miscommunication between the player’s camp and the Spurs, Leonard and Popovich maintained a solid — albeit often long-distance — relationship.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 28 Apr. 2018
The inside linebacker blitzes that have long hallmarked Pittsburgh’s scheme also remain.
—Andy Benoit, SI.com, 20 Sep. 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hallmark.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near hallmark
Cite this Entry
“Hallmark.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hallmark. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
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