landmark
UK /ˈlændmɑːk/ · US /ˈlændmɑɹk/ noun, verb
Forms landmarks landmarking landmarked land-mark land mark
- noun (historical) An object that marks the boundary of a piece of land (usually a stone, or a tree).
- noun A recognizable natural or man-made feature used for navigation.
- noun A notable location with historical, cultural, or geographical significance.
- noun (figurative, also attributive) A major event or discovery. “an important landmark in human history”
- verb (US) To officially designate a site or building as a landmark.
Synonyms
merestone marker mark monument sight milestone turning point watershed
Etymology
From Middle English *landmark, from Old English landmearc (“boundary”), from Proto-West Germanic *landamarku (“boundary, landmark”). Equivalent to land + mark. Cognate with German Landmarke (“landmark”), Danish landemærke (“landmark”), Swedish landmärke (“landmark”), Norwegian landemerke (“landmark”) and Faroese landamark (“land frontier”). Compare also Middle English londes-mark (“boundary”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A mark to designate the boundary of land; any , mark or fixed object (as a marked tree, a stone, a ditch, or a heap of stones) by which the limits of a farm, a town, or other portion of territory may be known and preserved.
- noun Any conspicuous object on land that serves as a guide; some prominent object, as a hill or steeple. Landmarks of history, important events by which eras or conditions are determined.
Etymology [AS. landmearc. See Land, and Mark a sign.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “landmark”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details