bark
English · Français · Deutsch · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
bark¹
- /bɑːk/ UK
- /bɑɹk/ US
Sounds like barque · Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)k
Where it comes from
From Middle English barken, berken, borken, from Old English beorcan (“to bark”), from the Proto-West Germanic *berkan (“to bark”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerg- (“to make a noise, growl, bark”), from *bʰer- (“to drone, hum, buzz”).
Cognate with Icelandic berkja (“to bark, bluster”), Icelandic barki (“throat, windpipe”), dialectal Lithuanian burgė́ti (“to growl, grumble, grouch, quarrel”), Serbo-Croatian brbljati (“to murmur”). For the noun, compare Old English beorc, bearce (“barking”).
verb barks · barking · barked · barke
-
To make a short, loud, explosive noise with the vocal organs (said of animals, especially dogs).
The neighbour's dog is always barking.
Similar: give tongue, latrate
- To make a clamor; to make importunate outcries. And therefore they bark, and say the scripture maketh heretics.
- To speak sharply. The sergeant barked an order.
noun barks · barke
- The short, loud, explosive sound uttered by a dog, a fox, and some other animals.
- An abrupt loud vocal utterance. Fox’s clumsy figure, negligently dressed in blue and buff, seemed unprepossessing; only his shaggy eyebrows added to the expression of his face; his voice would rise to a bark in excitement.
- The quick opening of the hi-hat cymbal as it is hit, followed by its timely closing.
- (video games) A short, repeatable, and unobtrusive voiceline spoken by an NPC.
interjection barke
-
The sound of a dog barking.
Similar: woof
bark²
- /bɑːk/ UK
- /bɑɹk/ US
Sounds like barque · Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)k
Where it comes from
From Middle English bark, from Old English barc (“bark”), from Old Norse bǫrkr (“tree bark”), from Proto-Germanic *barkuz, probably related to *birkijǭ (“birch”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerHǵós (compare Latin frāxinus (“ash”), Lithuanian béržas (“birch”)), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerHǵ- (“to gleam; white”) (compare English bright); akin to Danish bark, Icelandic börkur, Low German borke and Albanian berk (“bast”).
noun barks · barke
-
The exterior covering of the trunk and branches of a tree or of various other woody plants.
The hardships of bark-collecting in the primeval forests of South America are of the severest kind, and undergone only by the half-civilized Indians and people of mixed race, in the pay of speculators or companies located in the towns. Those who are engaged in the business, especially the collectors
Similar: rind
- Peruvian bark or Jesuit's bark, the bark of the cinchona from which quinine is produced.
- Hard candy made in flat sheets, for instance out of chocolate, peanut butter, toffee or peppermint.
- The crust formed on barbecued meat that has had a rub applied to it. This softens the meat further, but at some loss of crunch to the bark.
- The envelopment or outer covering of anything.
- Woodchips.
verb barks · barking · barked · barke
- To strip the bark from; to peel. Along the river freshly felled and barked trees told of the activity of beaver, and in slow current and in eddies the tops of their winter's food supply lay like submerged brush fences projecting above the surface.
- To abrade or rub off any outer covering from. I barked my shins climbing the fence.
- To girdle.
- To cover or enclose with bark, or as with bark. to bark the roof of a hut
bark³
- /bɑːk/ UK
- /bɑɹk/ US
Sounds like barque · Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)k
Where it comes from
From Middle English barke (“boat”), from Middle French barque, from Late Latin barca, a regular syncope of Vulgar Latin *barica, from Classical Latin bāris, from Ancient Greek βᾶρις (bâris, “Egyptian boat”), from Coptic ⲃⲁⲁⲣⲉ (baare, “small boat”), from Demotic Egyptian br, from Egyptian bꜣjrb-bA-A-y:r*Z1-P1 (“transport ship”). Doublet of barge, barque and baris.
noun barks · barque · barke
- A small sailing vessel, e.g. a pinnace or a fishing smack; a rowing boat or barge. Nothing then remained for them but to commit their bark to the wind and waves.
- A sailing vessel or boat of any kind. It is the star to every wandering bark
- A vessel, typically with three (or more) masts, with the foremasts (or fore- and mainmasts) square-rigged, and mizzenmast schooner-rigged. Europeans would cross the ocean in large barks built for deck space and large holds.
bark⁴
- /bɑːk/ UK
- /bɑɹk/ US
Sounds like barque · Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)k
noun barks · barke
- An Irish person.
Bark⁵
Where it comes from
* As an English surname, possibly a variant of Bargh, from places such as Barugh in Yorkshire, derived from Old English beorh (“hill”), or directly from the Old English noun.
* As a north/Low German and Dutch surname, from the noun berke (“birch”); also names for someone who lived near a mountain, see Barg, Berk.
* Also as a Dutch surname, possibly a pet from of the name Barnhard.
* As a Polish surname, from the noun bark (“shoulder”).
proper noun
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: skin, barque, barker, yelp, scream, shout, peel, arf, crust, cortex, voice, bowwow, trunk, bole, barge, skiff
Translations
Every language
verb to make a loud noise (dogs)
| Español | ladrar |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 짖다 jitda |
| 日本語 | 吠える hoeru |
| 中文 | 汪汪叫 wāngwāng jiào, 吠 fèi |
| हिन्दी | भौंकना bha͠uknā |
| Português | latir, ladrar |
| Français | aboyer, japper |
| Deutsch | bellen |
| Italiano | abbaiare |
| Ελληνικά | γαβγίζω gavgízo |
| Română | lătra |
| Русский | ла́ять lájatʹ, га́вкать gávkatʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | sủa |
| العربية | نَبَحَ nabaḥa, يَنْبَح yanbaḥ |
| עברית | נָבַח navákh |
verb to speak sharply
| Español | ladrar |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | blaffen, brüllen |
| Ελληνικά | γαβγίζω gavgízo |
| Русский | ря́вкать rjávkatʹ, ря́вкнуть rjávknutʹ |
noun short, loud, explosive utterance
| Español | ladrido |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 吠え声 hoegoe |
| 中文 | 吠 fèi |
| Português | latido |
| Français | aboiement |
| Deutsch | Bellen, Gebell |
| Italiano | abbaiamento, latrato |
| Ελληνικά | γάβγισμα gávgisma, αλύχτημα alýchtima, υλακή ylakí |
| Română | lătrat |
| Русский | лай laj |
| العربية | نُبَاح nubāḥ |
| עברית | נביחה nevikhá |
noun exterior covering of a tree
| Español | corteza |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 나무껍질 namukkeopjil, 수피 supi |
| 日本語 | 木の皮 ki no kawa, 樹皮 juhi |
| 中文 | 樹皮 /树皮 shùpí |
| हिन्दी | छाल chāl |
| Kiswahili | gamba |
| Português | casca |
| Français | écorce |
| Deutsch | Borke, Rinde |
| Italiano | corteccia, scorza |
| Ελληνικά | φλοιός floiós |
| Română | scoarță |
| Русский | кора́ korá |
| Tiếng Việt | vỏ, vỏ cây |
| العربية | لِحَاء liḥāʔ |
| עברית | קְלִפָּה qlipá |
verb to strip the bark from, to peel
| Español | descortezar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 樹皮を剥ぐ juhi o hagu |
| Português | descascar |
| Français | écorcer |
| Deutsch | abrinden |
| Italiano | scortecciare |
| Ελληνικά | αποφλοιώνω apofloióno, ξεφλουδίζω xefloudízo |
| Русский | ободра́ть кору́ obodrátʹ korú, обдира́ть кору́ obdirátʹ korú |
verb to abrade or rub off any outer covering from
| Ελληνικά | γδέρνω gdérno, ξεφλουδίζω xefloudízo |
|---|---|
| Русский | ободра́ть obodrátʹ, обдира́ть obdirátʹ |
noun poetic term for a boat
| Русский | ба́рка bárka |
|---|
Talk about this word "bark." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bark. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. bark. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bark "bark." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bark.Cite this
@misc{bark_2026,
title = {bark},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bark},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
