bark English · revision 15535

+ English has three words spelled bark: the dog's cry, the covering of a tree and a kind of ship.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bɑːk/ ''(UK)''; /bɑɹk/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|cry of a dog}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited, onomatopoeia|attested=before 899}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The dog's bark is [[inh|enm|berken]], [[inh|ang|beorcan|t=to bark]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*berkaną]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) of echoic origin,^(Etymonline) cognate with [[non|berkja|t=to bark; to boast]] and dialect [[lt|burgėti|t=to growl, quarrel]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Hoad suggests it may be a variant of the root of [[break]].^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Before 899, in Alfred's translation of Gregory's ''Pastoral Care'', in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) Middle English borcen is from about 1150 and berken about 1200.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The noun is Old English [[m|ang|beorc]].^(Etymonline) Bark has been paired with bite since at least the 1660s, as in ''his bark is worse than his bite'',^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) a proverb found already in Latin.^(Etymonline) ''To bark at the moon'', to complain uselessly, is from the 1650s,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) and ''to bark up the wrong tree'', from hounds following the wrong scent, is American by 1831, often linked with Davy Crockett.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) To speak sharply is a later sense.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 899 – beorcan.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1150 – borcen.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1650s – bark at the moon.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1660s – bark worse than bite.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1831 – bark up the wrong tree.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # Of a dog, to make its short, loud cry.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To say something sharply or angrily: ''barked an order''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To work as a [[barker]] at a fair or show.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The short, loud cry of a dog, or a similar sound, as a cough.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[barker]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|covering of a tree}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1300}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The bark of a tree is [[inh|enm|bark]], [[bor|non|bǫrkr|t=bark]] (stem bark-),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*barkuz]],^(Etymonline) cognate with [[gml|borke]] and [[dum|barc]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) and probably related to [[birch]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) The native word was [[rind]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Before 1300 in the OED, before 1325 in ''Cursor Mundi'' in Barnhart, about 1300 in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The husk or shell of fruit and grain is from 1377,^(OED 1989) and bark used in tanning and dyeing from 1565.^(OED 1989) In medicine, ''Peruvian'' or ''Jesuits' bark'', cinchona, is from 1704.^(OED 1989) The verb, to strip the bark from a tree, is from the 1540s, and to scrape the skin from 1850.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1300 – bark of a tree.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1540s – to bark a tree.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1565 – tanning bark.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1704 – Peruvian bark.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1850 – to graze the skin.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The tough outer covering of the trunk, branches and roots of a tree or shrub.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Bark of a particular kind used in [[tanning]] or medicine.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To scrape the skin off: ''barked his shin''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To strip the bark from a tree.^(AHD)

+

+ {{homograph|3|ship}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1420}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The ship is [[inh|enm|barke]], [[bor|frm|barque|t=boat]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[pro|barca]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[la-lat|barca|t=small boat]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) possibly through [[la-vul|*bārica]] from [[grc|βᾶρις|tr=bâris|t=Egyptian boat]], of Egyptian origin, though the OED and the Century Dictionary prefer a Celtic source.^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[barge]] and [[embark]].^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A boat: about 1420 in Barnhart, the early 15th century in Etymonline, at first a synonym of barge.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The precise sense, a three-masted ship rigged fore-and-aft on the mizzenmast, is from the 17th century and is often spelled [[barque]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1420 – barke, a boat.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 17th century – a three-masted ship.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A sailing ship with three to five masts, all square-rigged except the aftmost; a [[barque]].^(AHD)

+ # ''(poetic)'' A small boat.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[barque]]

+ * [[barge]]

+ * [[embark]]

+ * [[birch]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Northumberland and Lancashire cant, ''barks'' were Irishmen.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}