landmark

See also: land mark

English

Alternative forms

land-mark, land mark

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”).

Pronunciation

(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈlændmɑɹk/
- Audio (Southern England): (file)

Noun

landmark (plural landmarks)

(historical) An object that marks the boundary of a piece of land (usually a stone, or a tree).
Synonym: merestone
A recognizable natural or man-made feature used for navigation.
Synonyms: marker, mark
- 2005 January 22, misc.transport.road‎^[1] (Usenet):
  Anyone have any weird landmarks they often remember seeing along roads in the olden days?
A notable location with historical, cultural, or geographical significance.
Synonyms: monument, sight
(figurative, also attributive) A major event or discovery.
Synonym: milestone

an important landmark in human history

a landmark paper in neurosurgery

a landmark ruling/case
- 2005 January 19, “Bush thanks troops at gala event”, in CNN.com‎^[2], archived from the original on 7 June 2019:
  He called the overthrow of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and the recent elections in Afghanistan landmark events in the history of liberty.
- 2021 May 15, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 0-1 Leicester”, in BBC Sport‎^[3]:
  Leicester closed out the win to spark emotional scenes as those inside Wembley rejoiced in a landmark victory.

Translations

recognizable feature

Armenian: ուղենիշ (hy) (uġeniš)
Bulgarian: ориентир (bg) m (orientir)
Catalan: lloc famós m (literally “famous location”), fita (ca) f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 地標 / 地标 (dìbiāo)
Danish: landmærke n
Dutch: oriëntatiepunt (nl)
Finnish: maamerkki (fi)
French: repère (fr) m, point de repère (fr) m, amer (fr) m
Georgian: please add this translation if you can
German: Wahrzeichen (de) n, Orientierungspunkt (de) m, Orientierungshilfe f
Irish: sainchomhartha m
Italian: punto di riferimento m
Japanese: 目標 (ja) (めじるし, mejirushi), 境界標 (きょうかいひょう, kyōkaihyō)
Korean: 경계표(境界標) (gyeonggyepyo)
Latin: locus famosus m (literally “famous location”)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: landemerke n

Nynorsk: landemerke n
Portuguese: marco (pt) m
Romanian: punct de reper (ro) n, punct de orientare n
Russian: ориенти́р (ru) m (orijentír)
Scottish Gaelic: iùl m
Spanish: hito (es)
Swedish: landmärke n
Tagalog: palatandaan
Welsh: tirnod m

notable location

Arabic: مَعْلَم (ar) m (maʕlam)
Armenian: տեսարժան վայր (tesaržan vayr)
Bulgarian: забележителност (bg) f (zabeležitelnost)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 名勝古蹟 / 名胜古迹 (míngshènggǔjī)
Czech: pozoruhodnost f
Danish: seværdighed c
Finnish: merkkipaikka
French: site (fr) m
German: Sehenswürdigkeit (de) f
Irish: sainchomhartha m
Italian: monumento (it)
Japanese: ランドマーク (randomāku), 目標物 (もくひょうぶつ, mokuhyōbutsu)
Korean: 랜드마크 (raendeumakeu), 목표물(目標物) (mokpyomul)
Macedonian: знаменитост f (znamenitost)
Portuguese: marco (pt) m, cartão-postal m
Russian: достопримеча́тельность (ru) f (dostoprimečátelʹnostʹ)
Slovak: pozoruhodnosť f

major event

Bulgarian: превратна точка f (prevratna točka)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 里程碑 (zh) (lǐchéngbēi)
Danish: skelsættende (adjective)
Finnish: merkkipaalu
German: Meilenstein (de) m, richtungsweisendes Ereignis n
Italian: pietra miliare
Norwegian:
Bokmål: skjellsettende (no) (adjective)
Portuguese: marco (pt) m
Russian: ве́ха (ru) f (véxa)
Slovak: míľnik m, medzník m, predel m
Spanish: sobresaliente (es), monumental (es)

Verb

landmark (third-person singular simple present landmarks, present participle landmarking, simple past and past participle landmarked)

(US) To officially designate a site or building as a landmark.
- 2007 March 25, Jeff Vandam, “Preservationists’ Rallying Cry”, in New York Times‎^[4]:
  “Permitted demolition or stripping rarely occurs on landmarked buildings,” she said. Ms. de Bourbon also noted that the city already requires the Buildings Department to hold permits for 40 days for “calendared” properties — those currently under landmarks consideration — so the commission has a chance to designate them.

Anagrams

Markland, markland