Word of the Day

: November 17, 2023

hallmark

noun HAWL-mahrk

What It Means

A hallmark is a distinguishing characteristic, trait, or feature. Hallmark also refers to a mark or design placed or stamped on something to indicate its origin, purity, or genuineness, as in "sterling silver hallmarks."

// The entertainer's new book features the same kind of wry humor that is the hallmark of his radio show.

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hallmark in Context

"Clever, funny, and genuinely thrilling, the movie Dumb Money has all of the hallmarks of an epic finance film." — Lillian Brown, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2023

Did You Know?

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.