Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A mark or token added to a mark or marks already existing for greater security or more sure identification, as a second or third mark put on a bale of goods belonging to several merchants, that it may be opened only in the presence of all the owners; specifically, the mark of the Goldsmiths' Company of London, added to that of the artificer, to show the metal to be standard.
  • noun A small device, inscription, or numeral, stamped upon a coin subsequent to its issue from the mint.
  • noun An artificial cavity made in the teeth of horses that have outgrown their natural mark, to disguise their age.
  • To add a countermark to, in any sense of t hat word.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To apply a countermark to.
  • noun A mark or token added to those already existing, in order to afford security or proof; as, an additional or special mark put upon a package of goods belonging to several persons, that it may not be opened except in the presence of all; a mark added to that of an artificer of gold or silver work by the Goldsmiths' Company of London, to attest the standard quality of the gold or silver; a mark added to an ancient coin or medal, to show either its change of value or that it was taken from an enemy.
  • noun (Far.) An artificial cavity made in the teeth of horses that have outgrown their natural mark, to disguise their age.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A mark or token added to those already existing, as a security or proof.
  • noun An artificial cavity made in the teeth of horses that have outgrown their natural mark, to disguise their age.
  • verb transitive To apply a countermark to.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

counter- +‎ mark

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Examples

  • Two are Roman: a Nerva with S.C. on the reverse; and a Claudius Augustus, bearing by way of countermark a depressed oblong, of 20/100 by 14/100 (of inch), with a raised figure, erect, draped, and holding a sceptre or thyrsus.

    The Land of Midian 2003

  • [FN#203] i.e. affixed the tughraa, the royal seal or rather countermark.

    The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume IV Anonymous 1879

  • He danced at Constant's at Montparnasse; bought for two sous to sell for four at the door of Bobino, the jack of hearts or the ace of clubs serving as a countermark; sometimes opened the door of a carriage; led horses to the horse-market.

    Ten Tales Fran��ois Copp��e 1875

  • a Nerva with S.C. on the reverse; and a Claudius Augustus, bearing by way of countermark a depressed oblong, of 20/100 by

    The Land of Midian — Volume 1 Richard Francis Burton 1855

Comments

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  • "An artificial cavity made in the teeth of horses that have outgrown their natural mark, to disguise their age." --from the definitions.

    December 17, 2012