lark

¹

[lahrk]

noun

1. any of numerous, chiefly Old World oscine birds, of the family Alaudidae, characterized by an unusually long, straight hind claw, especially the skylark, Alauda arvensis.

2. any of various similar birds of other families, as the meadowlark and titlark.

lark

²

[lahrk]

noun

1. a merry, carefree adventure; frolic; escapade.

2. innocent or good-natured mischief; a prank.

3. something extremely easy to accomplish, succeed in, or to obtain.

   That exam was a lark.

verb (used without object)

1. to have fun; frolic; romp.

2. to behave mischievously; play pranks.

3. Fox Hunting.,  (of a rider) to take jumps unnecessarily.

   He tired his horse by larking on the way home.

lark

¹

/ lɑːk /

noun

1. a carefree adventure or frolic

2. a harmless piece of mischief

3. how amusing!

verb

1. (often foll by about) to have a good time by frolicking

2. to play a prank

lark

²

/ lɑːk /

noun

1. any brown songbird of the predominantly Old World family Alaudidae, esp the skylark: noted for their singing

2. short for titlark meadowlark

3. (often capital) any of various slender but powerful fancy pigeons, such as the Coburg Lark

4. up early in the morning

Other Word Forms

• larker noun
• larkiness noun
• larkishness noun
• larkingly adverb
• larkish adjective
• larky adjective
• larkishly adverb
• larksome adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of lark¹

before 900; Middle English larke, Old English lāwerce; cognate with German Lerche, Dutch leeuwerik, Old Norse lǣvirki

Origin of lark²

First recorded in 1805–15; origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of lark¹

C19: originally slang, perhaps related to _laik

Origin of lark²

Old English lāwerce, lǣwerce, of Germanic origin; related to German Lerche, Icelandic lǣvirki

Idioms and Phrases

• happy as the day is long (as a lark)

Example Sentences

But instead of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, the illustrations showed crystal-blue alpine lakes and edelweiss-covered meadows populated with snow larks, mountain hares, and other wildlife of that Swiss ilk.

Read more on Literature

There was a pretty songbird labeled a snow lark and a gray-furred rodent called an alpine marmot.

Read more on Literature

“Most observers,” Mr. Witt writes, “thought the whole situation a ridiculous lark.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Think of these folks like people who get audited by a Scientologist once, on a lark, but are weirded out by the process and never go back.

Read more on Salon

"You need to figure out who are the night owls and who are the morning larks. It is no good putting people in at the opposite end of the scale."

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• prank