stark

Meanings

Adjective

• Hard, firm; obdurate.
• Severe; violent; fierce (now usually in describing the weather).
• Strong; vigorous; powerful.
• Stiff, rigid.
• Plain in appearance; barren, desolate.
• Naked.
• Complete, absolute, full.

Adverb

• starkly; entirely, absolutely

Verb

• To stiffen.

Origin

• From Middle English stark, starc, from Old English stearc, starc, from Proto-West Germanic *stark, from Proto-Germanic *starkuz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)terg-. 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 , a literal parallel to the modern butt naked.
• From Middle English starken, from Old English stearcian ("to stiffen, become hard, grow stiff or hard"), from Proto-Germanic *starkōną, *starkēną, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)terg- ("rigid, stiff"). Cognate with German erstarken ("to strengthen").