Where did the name Mark come from in weaponry? I was researching weapons and finally realized that grenades, bombs, and grenade launchers all have the name mark in them (e.g. Mark 19). Why is this?
'Mark 1' would be the first of the type. 'Mark 2' would be the next.... etc. etc. (usually) Unless you're looking for etymological definitions?: Indo-European Root Etymology <TABLE cellSpacing=5 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>merg- Boundary, border. Oldest form *mer-, becoming *merg- in centum languages. Derivatives include marquee, demarcation, and margin. MARK1, from Old English mearc, boundary, landmark, sign, trace; MARGRAVE, from Middle Dutch marc, border; MARCH2, MARQUEE, MARQUIS, MARQUISE, from Old French marc, marche, border country; MARCHESE, MARCHIONESS, from Medieval Latin marca, boundary, border; DEMARCATION, from Old Italian marcare, to mark out; MARK2, from Old English marc, a mark of weight or money; MARKKA, from Swedish mark, a mark of money; MARKA, from Middle High German marke, mark of money. a-h all from Germanic *mark-, boundary, border territory; also to mark out a boundary by walking around it (ceremonially "beating the bounds"); also a landmark, boundary marker, and a mark in general (and in particular a mark on a metal currency bar, hence a unit of currency); these various meanings are widely represented in Germanic descendants and in Romance borrowings. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> merg- - yourDictionary.com Cheers, Adam.