Saint Mark

1 5.5

A follower of Jesus who traveled with Peter and wrote the second Gospel

proper noun
/seɪnt mɑrk/

: San Marcos

The Gospel according to Saint Mark is the second book of the New Testament.

Examples

As a companion of Peter, Saint Mark played an important role in spreading the teachings of Jesus.
Many churches around the world are named after Saint Mark in honor of his contributions to Christianity.
The Gospel of Saint Mark is one of the four canonical gospels.
Many churches are named after Saint Mark.
As a companion of Peter, Saint Mark played an important role in spreading the teachings of Jesus.
The Gospel according to Saint Mark is the second book of the New Testament.
Many churches around the world are named after Saint Mark in honor of his contributions to Christianity.

Synonyms

St. Mark

vsSaint Mark

2 6.1

An early follower of Jesus who wrote the second Gospel

is the full spelled-out name rather than the abbreviation

Mark the Evangelist

vsSaint Mark

Literature

1 8.9

A follower of Jesus and companion of Peter who wrote the second Gospel

is the standard name without the descriptive epithet

Surface Forms

Saint Mark main

Morphology

saint + Mark

The composition 'saint' (holy person) + 'Mark' (a proper name) transparently yields 'a holy person named Mark', so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer it refers to a religious figure called Mark. The specific biographical detail (apostle/author of the second Gospel) is not derivable from the words alone, but the core identification as a saint is clearly compositional and cross-linguistically common.

Etymology

Saint Mark is the name of an early follower of Jesus; one popular story says he wrote down the memories of the apostle Peter and so became the author of 'the second Gospel'. Because he helped spread Jesus' teachings, many churches and the book itself were later named after Saint Mark, so today the name refers to that apostle and the Gospel linked to him.