yark

Y4A1R1K5
UK/jɑːk/

verb

To make ready; prepare.

OriginMiddle English ȝarken ← Old English ġearcian ← Proto-West Germanic *garwakōn →
Scrabble 11
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Meanings

yark1

verbyark (third-person singular simple present yarks, present participle yarking, simple past and past participle yarked)

present singular third person yarks · participle present yarking · participle past yarked · past yarked

  1. obsoletetransitiveTo make ready; prepare.
  2. obsoletetransitiveTo dispose; be set in order for; be destined or intended for.
  3. obsoletetransitiveTo set open; open.

yark2

verbyark (third-person singular simple present yarks, present participle yarking, simple past and past participle yarked)

present singular third person yarks · participle present yarking · participle past yarked · past yarked · alternative yerk

  1. transitiveTo bind or draw (especially leather or stitches) tight.

    [...] Yet thou hast given us leather to yark, and leather to bark, [...]

    1881, Walter Gregor, Notes on the Folk-Lore of the North-East of Scotland
  2. transitiveTo hit, strike, especially with a cane or whip.
  3. transitiveTo crack (a whip).

    he would throw a Dagger, and make a whip to yarke and lash [tr. faisoit craqueter], as cunningly as any Carter in France.

    , Folio Society, 2006, vol.1, p.96

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
preparereadyscourgewhip

Origin

yark · verb

  1. Proto-West Germanic*garwakōn
  2. Old Englishġearcian“to prepare, make ready, procure, furnish, supply”
  3. Middle Englishȝarken
  4. Englishyark

From Middle English ȝarken, ȝerken, from Old English ġearcian (“to prepare, make ready, procure, furnish, supply”), Proto-West Germanic *garwakōn, equivalent to yare + -k. Related to Old English ġearc (“ready, active, quick”), ġearu (“prepared, ready, equipped, complete, finished, yare”). More at yare.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

yark · verb

Uncertain, probably originally imitative; compare jerk, etc.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with yark

parkmarkdarkclarkarcclerkremarksparkarkbarkstarkquarkembarklarkmarquesnarkharksarkStarkenarcdisembarkbarquecarkdemark
All rhymes →

Anagrams

KyrakrayKaryarykkyarraky
Cite this entry
APA

yark. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yark

MLA

“yark.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yark. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “yark,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yark.

Source: yark on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.