postmark
Meaning
An official mark stamped on a letter or package, showing the date and place of posting and often cancelling the postage stamp.
To stamp a letter or package with a postmark.
Structure
Usage
The letter bore a faint postmark from a small coastal town.
All outgoing mail must be postmarked by 5 PM to be dispatched today.
Collecting stamps with unusual postmarks is a popular hobby.
Etymology
The word 'postmark' is a transparent compound formed within English from the nouns 'post', referring to the mail system, and 'mark', meaning a sign or impression. The term 'post' itself has a long journey, originating from the Latin posita, the past participle of ponere (to place), which evolved to mean a fixed station or relay point for couriers in Medieval Europe. 'Mark' stems from the Proto-Germanic markō, conveying the concept of a boundary or a sign that delineates. Combined in the late 17th century, 'postmark' logically describes the official sign or impression placed by the postal service on a piece of mail, serving to record its passage through the system and often to invalidate the stamp.
Analysis
post: From Latin posta (a station, post), via French and Italian, meaning a system for carrying mail. In this compound, it denotes the mail service. mark: From Old English mearc (boundary, sign), from Proto-Germanic, meaning a visible sign or impression.