Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A mark showing the greatest height to which water has risen.
  • noun A line indicating the heights of high and low tide.
  • noun A translucent design impressed on paper during manufacture and visible when the paper is held to the light.
  • noun The metal pattern that produces this design.
  • noun Information directly encoded into the data portion of an image, video, or audio file that identifies the copyright owner or a licensed user. In image or video files, a watermark may be either visible or invisible.
  • transitive verb To mark (paper) with a watermark.
  • transitive verb To impress (a pattern or design) as a watermark.
  • transitive verb To insert (a digital file) with a watermark.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To mark or stamp with water-lines: as, to water-mark paper; a.water-marked page.
  • To mark, inscribe, or embody in water-lines.
  • noun The mark, line, or limit of the rise or height of water, as in a well, a river, the sea, etc.; a water-line; especially, a tide-mark.
  • noun A faintly marked letter, figure, or design in the fabric of paper, that denotes its size or its manufacturer, usually barely noticeable except when the sheet is held against strong light.

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

  • noun A mark indicating the height to which water has risen, or at which it has stood; the usual limit of high or low water.
  • noun A letter, device, or the like, wrought into paper during the process of manufacture.
  • noun (Naut.), rare See Water line, 2.

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

  • noun A translucent design impressed on the surface of paper and visible when the paper is held to the light.
  • noun computing Auxiliary data embedded in a datafile for subsequent identification and verification of the file.
  • verb transitive To mark paper with a watermark.
  • verb transitive To mark a datafile with a watermark.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a line marking the level reached by a body of water
  • noun a distinguishing mark impressed on paper during manufacture; visible when paper is held up to the light

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

water + mark

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Examples

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  • In the rare/antique book field, a figure or design impressed in paper during its manufacture that's visible when the paper is held to the light. It was created by impressing a water-coated metal stamp, or dandy roll, onto the paper during manufacture. Watermarks may denote the papermaker or may carry a heraldic crest or other distinguishing symbol

    February 22, 2007

  • one of the most lovely-sounding words in the english language

    February 24, 2009