The
Etymological Dictionary of the German Language by
Friedrich Kluge derives the word from the
Proto-Germanic term
marka, "weight and value unit" (originally "division, shared"). The etymological dictionary by
Wolfgang Pfeifer sees the
Old High German marc, "delimitation, sign", as the stem and assumes that
marc originally meant "minting" (marking of a certain weight), later denoting the
ingot itself and its weight, and finally a coin of a certain weight and value. According to an 1848 trade lexicon, the term
Gewichtsmark comes from the fact that "the piece of metal used for weighing was stamped with a sign or symbol". Meyer's 1905 Konversationslexikon similarly derives the origin of the word to the emergence of the mark from the Roman pound of to 11
ounces.
Charlemagne, as King of the Franks, carried out a monetary and measures reform towards the end of the 8th century. In particular, he had introduced the
Karlspfund ("Charles pound") as the basic unit of coinage and trade which, however, weighed only 8 ounces. In order to prevent a further reduction in the weight of a pound, a sign, the
mark, was now stamped on the new weights. The actual weight of these weights, known as
marca, is said to have fluctuated between 196 g and 280 g. == References ==