stark

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See also: Stark, stärk, and stærk

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English stark, starc, from Old English stearc, starc (stiff, rigid, unyielding, obstinate, hard, strong, severe, violent), from Proto-West Germanic *stark, from Proto-Germanic *starkuz (stiff, strong), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)terg- (rigid, stiff).

Cognate with Saterland Frisian sterc (strong), Dutch sterk (strong), Low German sterk (strong), German stark (strong), Danish stærk (strong), Swedish stark (strong), Norwegian sterk (strong), Icelandic sterkur (strong). Related to starch.

In the phrase stark naked: an alternation of Middle English stert naked, from stert (tail), a literal parallel to the modern butt naked.

Adjective

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stark (comparative starker, superlative starkest)

  1. (obsolete) Hard, firm; obdurate.
  2. Severe; violent; fierce (now usually in describing the weather).
    • 2013 May 11, “The climate of Tibet: Pole-land”, in The Economist[1], volume 407, number 8835, page 80:
      Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around, it changes everything.
  3. (poetic, literary or archaic) Strong; vigorous; powerful.
  4. Stiff, rigid.
  5. Plain in appearance; barren, desolate.
    I picked my way forlornly through the stark, sharp rocks.
  6. Naked.
    • 1817 December, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Revolt of Islam. []”, in [Mary] Shelley, editor, The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. [], volume I, London: Edward Moxon [], published 1839, →OCLC, page 211:
      They bore me to a cavern in the hill
      Beneath that column, and unbound me there;
      And one did strip me stark; and one did fill
      A vessel from the putrid pool; one bare
      A lighted torch, and four with friendless care
      Guided my steps the cavern-paths along []
  7. Complete, absolute, full.
    I screamed in stark terror.
    A flower was growing, in stark contrast, out of the sidewalk.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Adverb

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stark (not comparable)

  1. starkly; entirely, absolutely
    He's gone stark, staring mad.
    She was just standing there, stark naked.
    • 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; [], London: [] Iohn Williams [], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI):
      [] held him strangled in his arms till he was stark dead.
    • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad[2]:
      “… That woman is stark mad, Lord Stranleigh. Her own father recognised it when he bereft her of all power in the great business he founded. …”
Usage notes
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In standard modern English, the adverb is essentially restricted to stark naked and phrases meaning "crazy" on the pattern of stark raving mad.

Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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From Middle English starken, from Old English stearcian (to stiffen, become hard, grow stiff or hard), from Proto-Germanic *starkōną, *starkēną (to stiffen, become hard), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)terg- (rigid, stiff). Cognate with German erstarken (to strengthen).

Verb

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stark (third-person singular simple present starks, present participle starking, simple past and past participle starked)

  1. (obsolete or dialect) To stiffen.
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Anagrams

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German

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Etymology

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From Middle High German stark, from Old High German stark, from Proto-West Germanic *stark.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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stark (strong nominative masculine singular starker, comparative stärker, superlative am stärksten)

  1. strong (intense, powerful, unyielding)
  2. strong (having a high concentration of some ingredient, e.g. alcohol)
    Coordinate terms: gemischt, schwach
  3. (of an action, especially sports) good, great, skilled
  4. (colloquial, slightly dated) brilliant, awesome
  5. (colloquial, dated) incredible, unbelievable
    ein starkes Stück(please add an English translation of this usage example)
    starker Tobak(please add an English translation of this usage example)
  6. (dated, euphemistic) overweight, fat
  7. (grammar) strong (inflecting according to a pattern distinct from another called "weak")

Declension

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Derived terms

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Further reading

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Kashubian

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Slavic *starъ + -k.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈstark/
  • Rhymes: -ark
  • Syllabification: stark

Noun

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stark m pers (female equivalent starka)

  1. grandfather
    Synonyms: dżadek, ópa

Declension

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Further reading

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  • Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “dziadek”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi[3]
  • stark”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

Low German

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Etymology

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Cognate with German stark, Dutch sterk.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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stark (comparative starker, superlative starkst)

  1. strong, powerful

Declension

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Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Old High German

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Etymology

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From Proto-Germanic *starkuz, whence also Old English stearc, Old Norse sterkr.

Adjective

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stark

  1. strong

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • German: stark
  • Yiddish: שטאַרק (shtark)

Slovene

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Noun

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stark

  1. genitive dual/plural of starka

Swedish

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Etymology

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From Old Swedish starker, from Old Norse starkr, from Proto-Germanic *starkuz, from Proto-Indo-European *sterg-.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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stark (comparative starkare, superlative starkast)

  1. strong; able to use great force
    starka muskler
    strong muscles
  2. strong; capable of withstanding great (physical) force
  3. strong; highly stimulating to the senses
    starkt ljus
    bright light
  4. (of food) spicy, hot
    Nisses chili con carne är för stark för mig
    Nisse's chili con carne is too spicy for me
    världens starkaste chilipeppar
    the world's hottest chili pepper
  5. strong; having a high concentration of an essential; possibly alcohol
    starkt kaffe
    strong coffee
  6. (grammar) strong
  7. (military) strong; not easily subdued or taken

Declension

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Inflection of stark
Indefinite Positive Comparative Superlative2
Common singular stark starkare starkast
Neuter singular starkt starkare starkast
Plural starka starkare starkast
Masculine plural3 starke starkare starkast
Definite Positive Comparative Superlative
Masculine singular1 starke starkare starkaste
All starka starkare starkaste
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
3) Dated or archaic

Synonyms

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See also

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References

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Anagrams

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