St. Mark

2 6.1

An early follower of Jesus who wrote the second Gospel

proper noun
/seɪnt mɑrk/

: San Marcos

In many churches, the feast day of St. Mark is celebrated with special services.
St. Mark's Church
St. Mark United Methodist
St. Mark United

Examples

According to tradition, St. Mark was the first bishop of Alexandria.
Many churches around the world are named after St. Mark.
The Gospel according to St. Mark is the second book in the New Testament.
Tradition holds that St. Mark traveled to Alexandria to spread Christianity.
Did St. Mark really travel with Saint Peter?
Many churches are named after St. Mark.
The gospel of St. Mark provides a unique perspective on the life of Jesus.

Synonyms

Saint Mark

vsSt. Mark

1 5.5

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

is the abbreviated form that uses a shortened honorific

Mark the Evangelist

vsSt. Mark

Literature

1 8.9

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

is the simpler name without that descriptive title

Surface Forms

St. Mark main

Morphology

St. + Mark

The label 'St. Mark' is compositionally built from 'Saint' (abbreviated 'St.') + the proper name 'Mark', so a learner who knows those constituents can infer it denotes a saintly/religious figure named Mark. However, the specific biographical information (apostle, companion of Peter, traditional author of the Gospel) is encyclopedic world knowledge and cannot be derived from the words alone, making the expression only partially transparent.

Etymology

St. Mark is named for Mark, an early follower of Saint Peter who, tradition says, collected Peter's stories and turned them into the second Gospel. One popular story says he 'wrote' these teachings down, so the person, the book and many churches are all called St. Mark today.