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Webster 1913 Edition

Stark

Stark

(stärk)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Starker
(-ẽr)
;
sup
erl.
Starkest
.]
[OE.
stark
stiff, strong, AS.
stearc
; akin to OS.
starc
strong, D.
sterk
, OHG.
starc
,
starah
, G. & Sw.
stark
, Dan.
staerk
, Icel.
sterkr
, Goth. ga
staúrknan
to become dried up, Lith.
strëgti
to stiffen, to freeze. Cf.
Starch
,
Adj.
&
Noun.
]
1.
Stiff; rigid.
Chaucer.
Whose senses all were straight benumbed and
stark
.
Spenser.
His heart gan wax as
stark
as marble stone.
Spenser.
Many a nobleman lies
stark
and stiff
Under the hoofs of vaunting enemies.
Shakespeare
The north is not so
stark
and cold.
B. Jonson.
2.
Complete; absolute; full; perfect; entire.
[Obs.]
Consider the
stark
security
The common wealth is in now.
B. Jonson.
3.
Strong; vigorous; powerful.
A
stark
, moss-trooping Scot.
Sir W. Scott.
Stark
beer, boy, stout and strong beer.
Beau. & Fl.
4.
Severe; violent; fierce.
[Obs.]
“In starke stours” [i. e., in fierce combats].
Chaucer.
5.
Mere; sheer; gross; entire; downright.
He pronounces the citation
stark
nonsense.
Collier.
Rhetoric is very good or
stark
naught; there’s no medium in rhetoric.
Selden.

Stark

(stärk)
,
adv.
Wholly; entirely; absolutely; quite;
as,
stark
mad
.
Shak.
Held him strangled in his arms till he was
stark
dead.
Fuller.
Stark naked
,
wholly naked; quite bare.
Strip your sword
stark naked
.
Shakespeare
☞ According to Professor Skeat, “stark-naked” is derived from steort-naked, or start-naked, literally tail-naked, and hence wholly naked. If this etymology be true the preferable form is stark-naked.

Stark

,
Verb.
T.
To stiffen.
[R.]
If horror have not
starked
your limbs.
H. Taylor.

Webster 1828 Edition

Stark

STARK

,
Adj.
[G., stark, stiff, strong; formed on the root of the G., stiff, rigid. See Starch and Steer.]
1.
Stiff; strong; rugged.
Many a nobleman lies stark and stiff, under the hoofs of vaunting enemies.
The north is not so stark and cold.
2.
Deep; full; profound; absolute.
He pronounces the citation stark nonsense.

STARK

,
adv.
Wholly; entirely; absolutely; as stark mad; stark blind; stark naked. These are the principal applications of this word now in use. The word is in popular use, but not an elegant word in any of its applications.

Definition 2024

Stark

Stark

See also: stark, stärk, and stærk

English

Proper noun

Stark

  1. A surname​.
  2. A city in Kansas
  3. A town in New Hampshire
  4. A town in New York
  5. A town in Wisconsin

Derived terms

  • Stark City, Missouri

stark

stark

See also: Stark, stärk, and stærk

English

Adjective

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, 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. (rare) Strong; vigorous; powerful.
    • Sir Walter Scott
      a stark, moss-trooping Scot
    • Beaumont and Fletcher
      Stark beer, boy, stout and strong beer.
  4. Stiff, rigid.
    • Spenser
      Whose senses all were straight benumbed and stark.
    • Shakespeare
      Many a nobleman lies stark and stiff / Under the hoofs of vaunting enemies.
    • Ben Jonson
      The north is not so stark and cold.
  5. Hard in appearance; barren, desolate.
    I picked my way forlornly through the stark, sharp rocks.
  6. Complete, absolute, full.
    I screamed in stark terror.
    A flower was growing, in stark contrast, out of the sidewalk.
    • Ben Jonson
      Consider the stark security / The common wealth is in now.
    • Collier
      He pronounces the citation stark nonsense.
    • Selden
      Rhetoric is very good or stark naught; there's no medium in rhetoric.
Derived terms
Translations

Adverb

stark ‎(not comparable)

  1. starkly; entirely, absolutely
    He's gone stark, staring mad.
    She was just standing there, stark naked.
    • Fuller
      […] held him strangled in his arms till he was stark dead.
    • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad:
      “… 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

In standard modern English, the adverb is essentially restricted to stark naked, stark contrast and phrases meaning "crazy" on the pattern of stark raving mad.

Translations

Etymology 2

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

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

  1. (obsolete or dialect) To stiffen.
Related terms

Anagrams

German

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʃtaʁk/, /ʃtaɐ̯k/, /ʃtaːk/

Adjective

stark ‎(comparative stärker, superlative am stärksten)

  1. strong, powerful

Declension

Comparative forms of stark
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative er ist stärker sie ist stärker es ist stärker sie sind stärker
strong declension
(without article)		 nominative stärkerer stärkere stärkeres stärkere
genitive stärkeren stärkerer stärkeren stärkerer
dative stärkerem stärkerer stärkerem stärkeren
accusative stärkeren stärkere stärkeres stärkere
weak declension
(with definite article)		 nominative der stärkere die stärkere das stärkere die stärkeren
genitive des stärkeren der stärkeren des stärkeren der stärkeren
dative dem stärkeren der stärkeren dem stärkeren den stärkeren
accusative den stärkeren die stärkere das stärkere die stärkeren
mixed declension
(with indefinite article)		 nominative ein stärkerer eine stärkere ein stärkeres (keine) stärkeren
genitive eines stärkeren einer stärkeren eines stärkeren (keiner) stärkeren
dative einem stärkeren einer stärkeren einem stärkeren (keinen) stärkeren
accusative einen stärkeren eine stärkere ein stärkeres (keine) stärkeren

Low German

Etymology

Cognate with German stark, Dutch sterk.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /stark/, /staːk/

Adjective

stark ‎(comparative starker, superlative starkst)

  1. strong, powerful

Declension

Comparative forms of stark
gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative he is starker se is starker dat is starker se sünd starker
partitive een starkers een starkers wat starkers allens starker
strong declension
(without article)		 nominative starkere starkere starker starkere
oblique starkern starkere starker starkere
weak declension
(with definite article)		 nominative de starkere de starkere dat starkere de starkern
oblique den starkern de starkere dat starkere de starkern
mixed declension
(with indefinite article)		 nominative en starkere en starkere en starker (keen) starkern
oblique en starkern en starkere en starker (keen) starkern

Derived terms

  • Starkde/Stärkde

Synonyms

Old High German

Etymology

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

Adjective

stark

  1. strong

Derived terms

Descendants

Swedish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Adjective

stark (comparative starkare, superlative starkast)

  1. strong; able to use great force
  2. strong; capable of withstanding great physical force
  3. strong; highly stimulating to the senses
    starkt ljus
    strong light
  4. spicy, hot; with a biting taste
  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

Inflection of stark
Indefinite/attributive Positive Comparative Superlative2
Common singular stark starkare starkast
Neuter singular starkt starkare starkast
Plural starka 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 an attributive role.

Related terms

Synonyms

See also

  • oregelbundet verb

Etymology

From Middle English stark, starc, from Old English stearc, starc ‎(“stiff, obstinate, severe, etc.”), from Proto-Germanic *starkaz, *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 start ("tail" or "rump"), a literal parallel to the modern butt naked.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: stärk, IPA(key): /stɑː(r)k/
  • Rhymes: -ɑː(r)k

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