lark
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lark¹
- /lɑːk/ UK
- /lɑɹk/ US
Sounds like lakh (one pronunciation), lawk (cot–caught merger), lock, Locke (father–bother merger) · Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)k
Where it comes from
From Middle English larke, laverke, from Old English lāwerce, lǣwerce, lāuricæ, from Proto-West Germanic *laiwaʀikā, from Proto-Germanic *laiwazikǭ (compare dialectal West Frisian larts, Dutch leeuwerik, German Lerche), from *laiwaz (borrowed into Finnish leivo, Estonian lõo), of unknown ultimate origin with no definitive cognates outside of Germanic.
noun larks · laverock · lavrock
- Any of various small, singing passerine birds of the family Alaudidae.
- Any of various similar-appearing birds, but usually ground-living, such as the meadowlark and titlark.
-
One who wakes early; one who is up with the larks.
Similar: early bird, early riser · Opposite: owl
- A jolly or peppy person. Charles Randolph Grean is married to pop lark and multi-hit artist Betty Johnson.
verb larks · larking · larked · laverock · lavrock
- To catch larks (a type of bird). to go larking
lark²
- /lɑːk/ UK
- /lɑɹk/ US
Sounds like lakh (one pronunciation), lawk (cot–caught merger), lock, Locke (father–bother merger) · Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)k
Where it comes from
Uncertain, either
* from a northern English dialectal term lake /laik (“to play”) (around 1300, from Old Norse leika (“to play (as opposed to work)”)), with an intrusive -r- as is common in southern British dialects; or
* a shortening of skylark (1809), sailors' slang, "play roughly in the rigging of a ship", because the common European larks were proverbial for high-flying; Dutch has a similar idea in speelvogel (“playbird, a person of markedly playful nature”).
noun larks · laverock · lavrock
- A frolic or romp, some fun. ‘Ha! ha!’ laughed Master Bates, ‘what a lark that would be, wouldn’t it, Fagin? I say, how the Artful would bother ’em wouldn’t he?’
- A prank. doolittle. […] [T]hanks to your silly joking, he leaves me a share in his Pre-digested Cheese Trust worth three thousand a year on condition that I lecture for his Wannafeller Moral Reform World League as often as they ask me up to six times a year. / higgins. The devil he does! Whew! [Brightening s
Similar: whim, especially in phrase on a whim
verb larks · larking · larked · laverock · lavrock
- To sport, engage in harmless pranking. [T]hey laugh at us old boys,” thought old Pendennis. And he was not far wrong; the times and manners which he admired were pretty nearly gone—the gay young men “larked” him irreverently […]
- To frolic, engage in carefree adventure.
Lark³
proper noun
- A surname transferred from the nickname, from lark as a byname or for a catcher and seller of larks.
- A surname originating as a patronymic shortened from Larkin, a medieval diminutive of Laurence.
- A male given name transferred from the surname, of occasional usage.
- A female given name from English from the lark bird. Mama had chosen the name Lark. Lark Browning Erhardt. Papa had wanted to call me Beverly Mary; Mary after the Blessed Virgin. Mama said she wouldn't hang a name like Beverly Mary on a pet skunk. Where she got the idea for Lark, I don't know, though one time when I asked, she said that larks flew hig
- A river in England, on the border between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
Lark⁴
proper noun
- Alternative form of Larak (“island off the coast of Iran”).
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: titlark, skylark, meadowlark, pipit, romp, cavort, rollick, gambol, frolic, disport, frisk, run around, escapade, sport, lark about, sparrow
noun
Similar: whim, especially in phrase on a whim
Translations
Every language
noun bird
| Español | alondra |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 종다리 jongdari, 노고지리 nogojiri |
| 日本語 | 雲雀 hibari |
| 中文 | 雲雀 /云雀 yúnquè |
| Português | cotovia |
| Français | alouette |
| Deutsch | Lerche |
| Italiano | allodola, lodola |
| Ελληνικά | κορυδαλλός korydallós, σταρήθρα staríthra |
| Română | ciocârlie |
| Русский | жа́воронок žávoronok |
| Tiếng Việt | chim chiền chiện |
| العربية | قُبَّرَة qubbara |
noun one who wakes early
| Español | madrugador |
|---|---|
| Français | lève-tôt |
| Deutsch | Frühaufsteher, Lerche |
| Italiano | mattiniero |
| Română | persoană matinală |
| Русский | жа́воронок žávoronok |
Talk about this word "lark." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/lark. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. lark. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/lark "lark." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/lark.Cite this
@misc{lark_2026,
title = {lark},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/lark},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
