bark

[Bailey]

bark 1 (bärk)
n.
1. The harsh sound uttered by a dog.
2. A sound, such as a cough, that is similar to a dog's bark.
v. barked, bark·ing, barks
v.intr.
1. To utter a bark.
2. To make a sound similar to a bark: "The birds bark softly, sounding almost like young pups" Charleston SC News and Courier.
3. To speak sharply; snap: "a spot where you can just drop in . . . without anyone's barking at you for failing to plan ahead" Andy Birsh.
4. To work as a barker, as at a carnival.
v.tr.
To utter in a loud, harsh voice: The quarterback barked out the signals.
Idiom:
bark up the wrong tree
To misdirect one's energies or attention.



[From Middle English berken, to bark, from Old English beorcan.]


bark 2 (bärk)
n.
1. The tough outer covering of the woody stems and roots of trees, shrubs, and other woody plants. It includes all tissues outside the vascular cambium.
2. A specific kind of bark used for a special purpose, as in tanning or medicine.
tr.v. barked, bark·ing, barks
1. To remove bark from (a tree or log).
2. To rub off the skin of; abrade: barked my shin on the car door.
3. To tan or dye (leather or fabric) by steeping in an infusion of bark.
4. To treat (a patient) using a medicinal bark infusion.



[Middle English, from Old Norse börkr.]

barque (bärk)
n.
Variant of bark3.


barky adj.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.


bark (bärk)
The protective outer covering of the trunk, branches, and roots of trees and other woody plants. Bark includes all tissues outside the vascular cambium. In older trees, bark is usually divided into inner bark, consisting of living phloem, and outer bark, consisting of the periderm (the phelloderm, cork cambium, and cork) and all the tissues outside it. The outer bark is mainly dead tissue that protects the tree from heat, cold, insects, and other dangers. The appearance of bark varies according to the manner in which the periderm forms, as in broken layers or smoother rings. Bark also has lenticels, porous corky areas that allow for the exchange of water vapor and gases with the interior living tissues.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

mark woof-woof-going-fishin' Bailey

[Slava]

I'll re-up this suggestion as I'd like to see a nice, concise treatise on the two barks. Are they related?

I'm not excoriating anyone over any lapses here, just expressing a desire to get to the root of the matter.