English

Noun

jark ‎(plural jarks)

1. A seal (stamp or impression of a stamp).
   • 1839, Walter Scott, “XXIX”, in The Heart of Midlothian (The Waverley Novels), volume 2, page 92:

     "This is a jark from Jim Ratcliffe," said the taller, having looked at the bit of paper.

Derived terms

• jarkman

Verb

jark ‎(third-person singular simple present jarks, present participle jarking, simple past and past participle jarked)

1. (slang, military, Britain) To modify (weaponry) to disadvantage; especially, to attach and use a tracking device to covertly monitor its location.
   • 1996, Andy McNab, Immediate Action, page 365:

     At the end of the day, it was inevitable that the IRA would discover that its weapons were being jarked.

   • 2001, Peter Taylor, Brits:the War Against the IRA, page 255:

     'Anna' and 'Mary' were involved in operations that drew on a variety of intelligence data: ‘jarking’; information from agents; […] One of the weapons, perhaps the Armalite, had been ‘jarked’ by the ‘Det’ and tracked for some time.

   • 2010, Christopher C. Harmon, Andrew N. Pratt, Sebastian Gorka, Toward a Grand Strategy Against Terrorism, page 197:

     An especially creative method was known as “jarking,” which involved “the placing of tiny tracking devices on weapons in arms caches so their movements can be followed.”⁸

   • 2010, Ed Moloney, Voices from the Grave: Two Men's War in Ireland, page 282:

     The homes and safe houses he provided were bugged; the weapons hidden in empty houses were ‘jarked’ so the security forces could keep track of them, and the vehicles used to ferry weapons put under close surveillance.

Usage notes

(track weaponry): Both word and practice became common during the Ulster Troubles (1968-1998).

Etymology 2

From jerk.

Verb

jark ‎(third-person singular simple present jarks, present participle jarking, simple past and past participle jarked)

1. Eye dialect spelling of jerk.
   • 1996, William Gilmore Simms, Mary Ann Wimsatt, “Bald-Head Bill Bauldy”, in Tales of the South, page 323:

     First, I felt a kick in my side, and ribs; then I felt myself pulled and jarked about, by the arms and shoulders; and, when I opened my eyes and straightened myself out, to see what alligator hed got hold of me now, what should I see but a squad of four or five of our own Rigiment, all pulling at me at onst!

References

• jarking, in The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English: J-Z, by Eric Partridge, Tom Dalzell, Terry Victor, Taylor & Francis, 2006. ISBN 041525938X, 9780415259385.
• Toby Harnden, Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh, ISBN 0-340-71736-X

Ngandi

Noun

jark

1. water

Descendants

• → Dhuwal: gutjark (with the Ngandi noun class prefix gu-)

References

• Colette G. Craig, Noun Classes and Categorization (1986, ISBN 9027279179), page 389