hallmark
- 01 C2 Proficiency
n.an official mark stamped on gold, silver, or platinum to show its quality.
n.an official mark stamped on articles of gold, silver, or platinum by an assay office to certify their purity.
Simple“He checked the bottom of the silver spoon for a hallmark.”
In context“The antique dealer examined the hallmark on the gold casing to verify that the watch was indeed an authentic eighteenth-century piece.”
Synonyms - 02 C2 Proficiency
v.to put an official mark on a piece of precious metal.
v.to stamp an object with a hallmark to certify its standard of purity.
Simple“The jeweler sent the rings to be hallmarked before selling them.”
In context“Current regulations require all silver items over a certain weight to be hallmarked by one of the four remaining assay offices.”
UsageUsually used in the passive voice when referring to the legal requirement for precious metals.
“This layered and multi-tiered map bears all the hallmarks of the team behind some of the most memorable stomping grounds in video games.”
“But McWilliams said none of the photographs had the “hallmarks of culinary use”.”
1721. From hall + mark, from Goldsmiths' Hall in London, the site of the assay office, official stamp of purity in gold and silver articles. The general sense of “mark of quality” first recorded 1864. Use as a verb from 1773.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.