Etymology

Most suggest some ON input (with the exception of OED). ON had a wk. 1 v., cp. OIcel merkja ‘to draw; mark, sign, note, observe; beckon, show; denote, signify’, also represented by OFris merka, OS merkian, OHG merchen, merken, with no attested direct OE cognate. OE had the wk. 2 v. mearcian (cp. OIcel marka, OFris merkia, OS (gi)markōn, OHG marchōn), and thus explanations for non-palatalized medial /k/ can call upon the same range of possible inputs as for merk, including derivation on or influence from the form of the n., or merger with an early French form like AFr merker ‘to mark with a distinguishing mark (etc.)’(see AND s.v. mercher (2) and further FEW (Germanismes) s.v. merki, DEAF s.v. merche (f.)), and Diensberg 2006: 45).

PGmc Ancestor

*markjan-

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

merkja ‘to draw; mark, sign, note, observe; beckon, show; denote, signify’
(ONP merkja (vb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Far merkja, Icel merkja, Norw merkja, Dan mærke, Sw märka

OE Cognate

cp. mearcian 'to mark, stain, brand, seal'

Phonological and morphological markers

[absence of palatalization of */k/] (possibly diagnostic)

Summary category

CC2

(CC1)

Attestation

Frequent and widespread in ME.

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Gaw 1592; Pe 142; Cl 558, 637, 1487 etc., Erk 154; WA 318, 1130, 2636 etc.

On the sense at Gaw 1592, see Emerson 1927: 257. At WA 1130, the A MS reads <made>.

Bibliography

MED marken (v.1) , OED3 mark (v.) (sense 30a) , HTOED , HTOED , HTOED , Dance merkkez, Bj. 146, de Vries merkja, Mag. merkja (2), Orel *markjanan, Kroonen *markō-, AEW mearcian (1 and 2)