# bark

Pronunciation: US say "BARK" /bɑɹk/; UK say "BAHK" /bɑːk/

## Noun

1. The tough outer covering of the trunk and branches of a tree.
   - Simple: The hard outer covering of a tree's trunk and branches.
   - _Cinnamon comes from the dried bark of a tropical tree._
   - _Beetles burrow beneath the bark to lay their eggs._
3. The short, loud, explosive sound made by a dog, a fox, or certain other animals.
   - Simple: The short, loud sound that a dog or fox makes.
   - _A single sharp bark echoed across the empty parking lot._
   - _The seal's barks could be heard from the far end of the beach._
5. Hard candy made in flat sheets, often from chocolate, peanut butter, toffee, or peppermint.
   - Simple: A hard, flat candy made from things like chocolate or peppermint.
   - _Every December she makes trays of peppermint bark to give away._
   - _The bark snapped cleanly into jagged pieces, revealing layers of chocolate and mint._
6. A sudden, sharp, loud utterance from a person.
   - Simple: A sudden, short, loud sound made by a person, such as a shout or a laugh.
   - _The sergeant's bark sent the recruits scrambling for cover._
   - _A bark of laughter escaped him before he could stop it._
10. The flavorful crust that forms on the outside of barbecued meat seasoned with a rub.
   - Simple: The dark, tasty crust that forms on barbecued meat.
   - _A proper rub helps the bark develop during the long smoke._
   - _He sliced through the crisp bark to reveal the tender meat beneath._
7. A sailing vessel with three or more masts, the forward masts square-rigged and the rearmost mast (the mizzen) rigged fore-and-aft like a schooner.
   - Simple: A large sailing ship with at least three masts, where the back mast carries differently set sails.
   - _The three-masted bark carried timber across the Atlantic for decades._
   - _From the dock they watched a bark glide past, its square sails full of wind._
8. The bark of the cinchona tree, the source of quinine, also called Peruvian bark or Jesuit's bark.
   - Simple: The dried bark of a South American tree, used to make a medicine for fever.
   - _Before quinine was isolated in 1820, doctors in Europe gave malaria patients powdered Peruvian bark._
   - _Ships carried sacks of the costly bark from Peru to apothecaries in Europe._
12. A boat or small sailing vessel of any kind, used chiefly in old or literary writing. *(literary)*
   - Simple: An old or poetic word for a boat.

## Verb

2. To make a short, loud, explosive sound with the voice, as a dog or fox does.
   - Simple: To make a short, loud sound, like a dog does.
   - _Dogs bark whenever a stranger approaches the gate._
   - _The fox barked twice and disappeared into the woods._
4. To speak or shout something sharply, curtly, or insistently.
   - Simple: To say or shout something in a short, sharp, loud way.
   - _The manager barked instructions across the busy kitchen._
   - _Officers bark orders that must be obeyed instantly._
11. To strip the bark from a tree, log, or branch, sometimes in a ring around the trunk to kill the tree.
   - Simple: To take the bark off a tree or log.
   - _Tanners bark the felled oaks by hand before treating the hides._
   - _Deer had barked several young apple trees in a ring around the trunk, and by spring they were dead._
13. To scrape or rub the outer covering or skin off of something.
   - Simple: To scrape the skin or outer layer off of something.
   - _She barked her elbow squeezing through the narrow gap._
   - _Workers can easily bark their knuckles on rough timber._

## Interjection

9. Used to represent the sound of a dog barking.
   - Simple: Used in writing to stand for the sound a dog makes.
   - _Bark! The shepherd dog sounded off the moment the gate creaked open._
   - _Bark, bark! echoed through the yard as the visitor reached the porch._

## Noun

14. An Irish person. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A person from Ireland.

## Other meanings

- (noun) The outer covering or casing that surrounds something.
- (verb) To cover or enclose something with bark, or with a covering resembling bark.
- (noun) A quick opening of the hi-hat cymbal as it is struck, followed by closing it again promptly.

## Origin

**Meanings 2–4, 6, 9** — From Middle English barken, from Old English beorcan ("to bark"), from Proto-West Germanic *berkan, and ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root *bʰerg- meaning "to make a noise, growl, bark." It is related to Icelandic berkja ("to bark, bluster") and dialectal Lithuanian burgė́ti ("to growl, grumble").
**Meanings 1, 5, 8, 10–11, 13** — Old Norse bǫrkr ("tree bark") was taken into Old English as barc, which became Middle English bark. The Norse word comes from Proto-Germanic *barkuz, which is probably connected with *birkijǭ ("birch"). Danish bark and Icelandic börkur are akin.
**Meanings 7, 12** — English bark developed from Middle English barke ("boat"), borrowed from Middle French barque, whose source was Late Latin barca. One possible earlier source is Classical Latin bāris, borrowed from Ancient Greek βᾶρις ("Egyptian boat") and ultimately tracing back to an Egyptian word for a transport ship. Barge and barque are doublets of bark.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/bark (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).