Mark my words

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on June 28, 2011 at 19:38

In Reply to: Mark my words posted by Peter O on June 28, 2011 at 13:52:

: What is the origin of 'mark my words'?

"Mark" has meant "take notice of; heed; give one's attention to" since the twelfth century. It was often used in the imperative, e.g. "Markyth this tale!" "Merk this in your mynde", "He must ernestly and diligently marke wel that he redeth". The earliest example of "mark my words" I know of is in Coverdale's 1535 translation of the Bible, Isaiah xxviii: "Take hede, and heare my voyce, pondre and merck my wordes wel". (VSD)