skylark

[skahy-lahrk]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR skylark ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a brown-speckled European lark, Alauda arvensis, famed for its melodious song.

verb (used without object)

to frolic; sport: The children were skylarking on the beach.

Origin of skylark

First recorded in 1680–90; sky + lark¹

Related formssky·lark·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for skylark

uproar, panic, frolic, cavort, gambol, prance, show, sensation, revelry, carousal, wow, splash, lark, extravaganza, festivity, merrymaking, confusion, excess, flourish, smash

Examples from the Web for skylark

Contemporary Examples of skylark

While Skylark is away, in the countryside, they chance upon a vitality that has evaded them for too many years.
3 Must-Read Novels
The Daily Beast
April 11, 2011

Historical Examples of skylark

It is in the brain that the poppy is red, that the apple is odorous, that the skylark sings.
De Profundis
Oscar Wilde
But of all his poems, the most popular, and deservedly so, is the Skylark.
A Dish Of Orts
George MacDonald
The Skylark set off at as high an altitude as the Osnomians could stand.
The Skylark of Space
Edward Elmer Smith and Lee Hawkins Garby
Seaton turned to the Skylark, motioning to Crane to open the door.
The Skylark of Space
Edward Elmer Smith and Lee Hawkins Garby
Say, why don't you build a bus like the Skylark, and blow Mardonale off the map?
The Skylark of Space
Edward Elmer Smith and Lee Hawkins Garby

British Dictionary definitions for skylark

skylark

noun

an Old World lark, Alauda arvensis, noted for singing while hovering at a great height

any of various Australian larks

verb

(intr) informal to romp or play jokes

Derived Formsskylarker, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for skylark

the common European lark, 1680s, from sky (n.) + lark (n.1). So called because it sings as it mounts toward the sky in flight.

"to frolic or play," 1809, originally nautical, in reference to "wanton play about the rigging, and tops," probably from skylark (n.), influenced by (or from) lark (n.2). Related: Skylarked; skylarking.