starkers

English

Etymology

British slang, from 1923, combining (like a popular etymology) two meanings of stark (“strong, utterly; barren”) with stark naked, which is from Old English steort (“tail”), referring to the tail-end (as in butt-naked).

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ˈstɑːkəz/, X-SAMPA: /"stA:k@z/
• (US) enPR: stärʹkərz, IPA: /ˈstɑrkɚz/, X-SAMPA: /"stArk@`z/

Adjective

starkers (not comparable)

1. (chiefly UK, slang) Completely nude.

   Entering the bathroom, I found Bill there, still starkers after his bath.

Synonyms

• bare
• butt-naked
• in one's birthday suit
• in the bare
• in the nuddy
• in the nude
• naked
• naked as the day one was born
• nude
• undressed

Antonyms

• dressed

Related terms

• stark bollock naked
• stark naked

Translations

completely nude

• Dutch: spiernaakt (nl), moedernaakt, puitebloot
• French: nu comme un ver (fr)
• German: splitternackt (de)

• Japanese: すっぽんぽん (ja)
• Swedish: nakenfis (sv)

References

• “starkers” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).