▪ I. ˈear-mark, n.
[f. ear n.1 + mark n.]
1. A mark in the ear of a sheep or other animal, serving as a sign of ownership.
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §52 Se that they [the sheep] be well marked, both eare-marke, pitche-marke, and radel-marke. 1681 Lond. Gaz. No. 1625/4 Lost..a White Mare..no Ear-mark. 1683 Col. Rec. Penn. I. 65 Punishm{supt} for those y{supt} shall presume to alter their Neighbours Eare or Brand Mark. 1725 Bradley Fam. Dict. II. s.v. Marking, Some mark them with Raddle and make Ear Marks. |
2. transf. and fig. A ‘stamp’, mark of ownership, identifying mark.
| 1577–87 Harrison in Holinshed Descr. Brit. xx. 115 This proverbe hath..been used as an eare marke of their dissimulation. 1622 R. Hawkins Voy. S. Sea (1847) 67 We should see foure, five, and more, which had, as it were, our eare⁓marke; one hurt upon the backe, another neere the tayle, another about the fynnes. 1670 Brooks Wks. (1867) VI. 99 God makes this the ear-mark of his people, that they are children that will not lie. 1672 Marvell Reh. Transp. i. 151 Fanatick Money hath no Ear-mark. 1879 Trollope Thackeray 201 His [Thackeray's] most besetting sin in style,—the little earmark by which he is most conspicuous. |
3. The mark of teeth in the ear.
| 1837–40 Haliburton Clockm., They said it was a biter bit, and they came..to see which critter would get the ear-mark. |
▪ II. ˈear-mark, v.
Also earmark.
[partly f. prec. n.; partly f. ear n.1 + mark v.]
1. trans. To mark (animals) in the ear as a sign of ownership or identity; fig. to mark (anything) as one's own, make its identity recognizable, by a special sign. Hence ˈear-marked ppl. a.
| 1591 Spenser M. Hubberd 188 Least we..for eare marked beasts abroad be bruted. 1612 R. Carpenter Soules Sent. 76, I will heere let them passe as eare-markt slaues of Sathan. 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (1856) 4 It is a goode way to earemarke lambes as they fall. 1882 Standard 2 Jan. 5 The troubles which an ear-marked cheque avoids. 1882 Montague Williams Def. Dr. Lamson in Times 14 Mar., Why did the prisoner go down to Wimbledon and earmark his visit by, etc. |
† 2. (nonce-use.) To mark a person by cutting his ears (in the pillory).
| 1660 S. Fisher Rusticks Alarm Wks. (1679) 125 The Practice of..pilloring, gagging, Ear-marking, Noseslitting. |
3. To set aside (money, etc.) for a particular purpose. So ˈear-marking vbl. n. (also concr.). Also fig.
| [a 1868 W. Stebbing in M. Pattison Acad. Org. i. 13 Corporate property..unearmarked..by the donor.] 1890 Spectator 28 June, With large sums ear-marked and accumulating for the extinction of licences. 1893 Times 28 Apr. 9/4 A perfectly arbitrary earmarking of moneys paid into a common fund. 1928 Manch. Guardian Weekly 31 Aug. 179/2 Sundry amounts of sovereigns were ‘ear⁓marked’ for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. 1929 S. McKenna Happy Ending iii. ii, I need only earmark sufficient time in the summer for certain people whose hospitality I've accepted. 1931 Economist 10 Jan. 64/2 The usual year-end earmarkings have cut down the usual gain, so that the year may end with the total under earmark virtually unchanged at around $135,000,000. 1966 New Statesman 22 July 123/2 Already the unions give about {pstlg}270,000 to Transport House without ear-markings. |