bark
pronunciation
How to pronounce bark in British English:
UK [bɑːk]
How to pronounce bark in American English:
US [bɑːrk]
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- Noun:
- tough protective covering of the woody stems and roots of trees and other woody plants
- a noise resembling the bark of a dog
- a sailing ship with 3 (or more) masts
- the sound made by a dog
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- Verb:
- speak in an unfriendly tone
- cover with bark
- remove the bark of a tree
- make barking sounds
- tan (a skin) with bark tannins
Word Origin
- bark (n.1)
- "tree skin," c. 1300, from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse borkr "bark," from Proto-Germanic *barkuz, which probably is related to birch and Low German borke. The native word was rind.
- bark (n.2)
- "any small ship," early 15c., from Middle French barque (15c.), from Late Latin barca (c. 400 C.E.), probably cognate with Vulgar Latin *barica (see barge). More precise sense of "three-masted ship" (17c.) often is spelled barque to distinguish it.
- bark (v.)
- in reference to a dog sound, Old English beorcan "to bark," from Proto-Germanic *berkan (cognates: Old Norse berkja "to bark"), of echoic origin. Related: Barked; barking. To bark up the wrong tree is U.S. colloquial, first attested 1832, from notion of hounds following the wrong scent.
- bark (n.3)
- dog sound, Old English beorc, from bark (v.). Paired and compared with bite (n.) since at least 1660s; the proverb is older: "Timid dogs bark worse than they bite" was in Latin (Canis timidus vehementius latrat quam mordet, Quintius Curtius).
Example
- 1. He gave john some alder bark .
- 2. The bark is usually ground up and sold in capsules or liquid form .
- 3. Douglas-fir has a thick bark which protects the inner section of the tree from most fires .
- 4. What happens when nobody hears the watchdog bark ?
- 5. So far oil has been the " dog that did not bark " ; but it may yet give the global economy a nasty bite .