I. ˈhȯlˌmärk, -mȧk noun
Etymology: Goldsmiths' Hall, London, England, where gold and silver articles were assayed and stamped + English mark
1.
a. in England : an official mark stamped on gold and silver articles to attest their purity and comprised of the king's or queen's mark, the maker's mark, the assayer's mark, and a letter of the alphabet for the year, a new style being used when the alphabet in one style is exhausted
b. : a mark stamped on gold and silver articles consisting of the word “sterling” accompanied by the name or mark of the manufacturer
c. : a mark or device placed or stamped upon an article of trade to indicate origin, purity, or genuineness
the hallmark of a potter of the Ming dynasty
d. : the identifying mark or device (as of a company)
the new hallmark will be a small, bright spot on company letterheads — Bulletin Standard Oil of California
2. : a distinguishing or identifying characteristic, trait, or feature
avoidance of such constructions … has become a hallmark of social respectability — Thomas Pyles
the hallmark of the adult human being is responsibility — Weston La Barre
his solicitude for the poor … is the hallmark of his best stories — Hakon Stangerup
II. transitive verb
1. : to stamp with a hallmark
2.
a. : to constitute a distinguishing or identifying feature or trait of
two great faults and two great virtues hallmarked the work of the late … associate justice — Fred Rodell
b. : to have or display the distinguishing, validating, or identifying traits or features of
a host of inconspicuous but hallmarked spinsters — Times Literary Supplement
my one genuine hallmarked ghost story — Rudyard Kipling