Standard Lemma guide

lark

name · noun · verb · 20 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: läk
  • Received-Pronunciation: /lɑːk/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: lärk
  • General-American: /lɑɹk/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)k
  • homophone: lakh (one pronunciation)
  • homophone: lawk (cot–caught merger)
  • homophone: lock
  • homophone: Locke (father-bother merger)
  • CMU ARPABET: L AA1 R K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

A surname transferred from the nickname, from lark as a byname or for a catcher and seller of larks.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

A surname originating as a patronymic shortened from Larkin, a medieval diminutive of Laurence.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

name

Meaning 3

A male given name transferred from the surname, of occasional usage.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

name

Meaning 4

A female given name from English from the lark bird.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

name

Meaning 5

A river in England, on the border between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

name

Meaning 6

Alternative form of Larak (“island off the coast of Iran”).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of, alternative

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

Any of various small, singing passerine birds of the family Alaudidae.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

Any of various similar-appearing birds, but usually ground-living, such as the meadowlark and titlark.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

One who wakes early; one who is up with the larks.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: early bird, early riser

Antonyms: owl

10

noun

Meaning 10

A jolly or peppy person.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

noun

Meaning 11

A frolic or romp, some fun.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

12

noun

Meaning 12

A prank.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

13

verb

Meaning 13

To catch larks (a type of bird).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Examples

  • to go larking

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

14

verb

Meaning 14

To sport, engage in harmless pranking.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

15

verb

Meaning 15

To frolic, engage in carefree adventure.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

16

noun

Meaning 16

any carefree episode

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: escapade

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: diversion, recreation

Narrower terms: sexcapade

17

noun

Meaning 17

any of numerous predominantly Old World birds noted for their singing

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: oscine, oscine bird

Narrower terms: skylark, Alauda arvensis

18

noun

Meaning 18

a songbird that lives mainly on the ground in open country; has streaky brown plumage

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pipit, titlark

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: oscine, oscine bird

Narrower terms: meadow pipit, Anthus pratensis

19

noun

Meaning 19

North American songbirds having a yellow breast

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: meadowlark

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: New World oriole, American oriole, oriole

Narrower terms: eastern meadowlark, Sturnella magna, western meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta

20

verb

Meaning 20

play boisterously

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The children frolicked in the garden
  • the gamboling lambs in the meadows
  • The toddlers romped in the playroom

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: frolic, rollick, skylark, disport, sport, cavort, gambol, frisk, romp, run around, lark about

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: play

History

Etymology

From Middle English larke, laverke, from Old English lāwerce, lǣwerce, lāuricæ, from Proto-West Germanic *laiwaʀikā, from Proto-Germanic *laiwazikǭ (compare dialectal West Frisian larts, Dutch leeuwerik, German Lerche), from *laiwaz (borrowed into Finnish leivo, Estonian lõo), of unknown ultimate origin with no definitive cognates outside of Germanic.

Uncertain, either * from a northern English dialectal term lake /laik (“to play”) (around 1300, from Old Norse leika (“to play (as opposed to work)”)), with an intrusive -r- as is common in southern British dialects; or * a shortening of skylark (1809), sailors' slang, "play roughly in the rigging of a ship", because the common European larks were proverbial for high-flying; Dutch has a similar idea in speelvogel (“playbird, a person of markedly playful nature”).

Across languages

Translations

158 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: laureshë — bird
  • Arabic: قُبَّرَة (qubbara) — bird
  • Armenian: արտույտ (artuyt) — bird
  • Azerbaijani: torağay — bird
  • Basque: hegatxabal — bird
  • Belarusian: жа́варанак (žávaranak) — bird
  • Breton: alc'hweder — bird
  • Bulgarian: чучули́га (čučulíga) — bird
  • Catalan: alosa — bird
  • Chinese Mandarin: 雲雀 /云雀 (yúnquè) — bird
  • Czech: skřivan — bird
  • Danish: lærke — bird
  • Dutch: leeuwerik — bird
  • Esperanto: alaŭdo — bird
  • Estonian: lõoke — bird
  • Finnish: kiuru — bird
  • Finnish: leivo — bird
  • Finnish: leivonen — bird
  • French: alouette — bird
  • West-Frisian: ljurk — bird
  • Friulian: lodule — bird
  • Friulian: odule — bird
  • Galician: laverca — bird
  • Galician: cotovía — bird
  • Georgian: ტოროლა (ṭorola) — bird
  • German: Lerche — bird
  • Greek: κορυδαλλός (korydallós) — bird
  • Greek: σταρήθρα (staríthra) — bird
  • Ancient Greek: κορυδός (korudós) — bird
  • Ancient Greek: κόρυδος (kórudos) — bird
  • Hungarian: pacsirta — bird
  • Icelandic: lævirki — bird
  • Irish: fuiseog — bird
  • Irish: circín starraiceach — bird
  • Italian: allodola — bird
  • Italian: lodola — bird
  • Japanese: 雲雀 (hibari) — bird
  • Korean: 종다리 (jongdari) — bird
  • Korean: 노고지리 (nogojiri) — bird
  • Central Kurdish: چوڕە (çurre) — bird
  • Ladino: lodola — bird
  • Latin: alauda — bird
  • Latvian: cīrulis — bird
  • Lithuanian: vieversys — bird
  • Lithuanian: vyturys — bird
  • Low German: Lark — bird
  • Low German: Lurk — bird
  • Low German: Lörk — bird
  • Low German: Lörke — bird
  • Low German: Lerke — bird
  • Low German: Lewark — bird
  • Low German: Levark — bird
  • Low German: Levalk — bird
  • Low German: Lewrik — bird
  • Low German: Lewrink — bird
  • Low German: Leerk — bird
  • Low German: Lauerk — bird
  • Low German: Leving — bird
  • Luxembourgish: Léierchen — bird
  • Macedonian: чучулига (čučuliga) — bird
  • Maltese: alwett — bird
  • Maltese: bilbla — bird
  • Māori: hīoi — bird
  • Māori: pīhoihoi — bird
  • Māori: whioi — bird
  • Marathi: चंडोल (caṇḍol) — bird
  • Norwegian Bokmål: lerke — bird
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: lerke — bird
  • Occitan: alauseta — bird
  • Occitan: lauseta — bird
  • Old English: lāwerce — bird
  • Old Norse: lævirki — bird
  • Persian: چکاوک (čakâvak) — bird
  • Plautdietsch: Leewoakj — bird
  • Polish: skowronek — bird
  • Portuguese: cotovia — bird
  • Romani: chirikli-gilibani — bird
  • Romani: chiriklo-gilibano — bird
  • Romanian: ciocârlie — bird
  • Romansh: lodola — bird
  • Russian: жа́воронок (žávoronok) — bird
  • Northern Sami: leivvoš — bird
  • Sardinian: allòdola — bird
  • Scots: laverock — bird
  • Scottish Gaelic: uiseag — bird
  • Serbo-Croatian: шева — bird
  • Serbo-Croatian: шевpљугa — bird
  • Serbo-Croatian: ševa — bird
  • Serbo-Croatian: ševrljuga — bird
  • Slovak: škovránok — bird
  • Slovene: škrjanec — bird
  • Lower Sorbian: škobrjonk — bird
  • Upper Sorbian: škowrončk — bird
  • Spanish: alondra — bird
  • Swedish: lärka — bird
  • Turkish: tarla kuşu — bird
  • Turkish: çayır kuşu — bird
  • Turkish: toygar — bird
  • Ottoman Turkish: طویغار (toygar) — bird
  • Ottoman Turkish: تارلا قوشی (tarla kuşu) — bird
  • Ottoman Turkish: چایر قوشی (çayır kuşu) — bird
  • Ottoman Turkish: چكیك (çekik) — bird
  • Ottoman Turkish: قبر (kuber, kubber) — bird
  • Ukrainian: жа́йворонок (žájvoronok) — bird
  • Vietnamese: chim chiền chiện — bird
  • Volapük: laud — bird
  • Welsh: ehedydd — bird
  • Bulgarian: ранобудник (ranobudnik) — one who wakes early
  • Czech: ranní ptáče — one who wakes early
  • Dutch: vroege vogel — one who wakes early
  • Finnish: aamuvirkku — one who wakes early
  • French: lève-tôt — one who wakes early
  • German: Frühaufsteher — one who wakes early
  • German: Lerche — one who wakes early
  • Hungarian: korán kelő — one who wakes early
  • Hungarian: pacsirta — one who wakes early
  • Italian: mattiniero — one who wakes early
  • Lithuanian: vyturys — one who wakes early
  • Polish: ranny ptaszek — one who wakes early
  • Polish: skowronek — one who wakes early
  • Romanian: persoană matinală — one who wakes early
  • Russian: жа́воронок (žávoronok) — one who wakes early
  • Spanish: madrugador — one who wakes early
  • Swedish: lärka — one who wakes early
  • Bulgarian: лудория (ludorija) — romp, frolic, some fun
  • Bulgarian: веселие (veselie) — romp, frolic, some fun
  • Czech: legrace — romp, frolic, some fun
  • Czech: špás — romp, frolic, some fun
  • Czech: blbiny — romp, frolic, some fun
  • Czech: blbnutí — romp, frolic, some fun
  • Dutch: gedol — romp, frolic, some fun
  • Finnish: hullutus — romp, frolic, some fun
  • German: Spaß — romp, frolic, some fun
  • Māori: tuapa — romp, frolic, some fun
  • Polish: heca — romp, frolic, some fun
  • Russian: заба́ва (zabáva) — romp, frolic, some fun
  • Spanish: diversión — romp, frolic, some fun
  • Bulgarian: шега (šega) — prank
  • Bulgarian: закачка (zakačka) — prank
  • Czech: žertík — prank
  • Dutch: vlerkenstreek — prank
  • Finnish: pila — prank
  • Finnish: kuje — prank
  • German: Streich — prank
  • Māori: hīanga — prank
  • Russian: шу́тка (šútka) — prank
  • Russian: прока́за (prokáza) — prank
  • Spanish: travesura — prank
  • Dutch: dollen — sport, engage in harmless pranking
  • Finnish: pilailla — sport, engage in harmless pranking
  • Finnish: kujeilla — sport, engage in harmless pranking
  • Bulgarian: лудувам (luduvam) — frolic, engage in carefree adventure
  • Bulgarian: забавлявам се (zabavljavam se) — frolic, engage in carefree adventure
  • Czech: dovádět — frolic, engage in carefree adventure
  • Czech: skotačit — frolic, engage in carefree adventure
  • Dutch: stoeien — frolic, engage in carefree adventure
  • Finnish: hullutella — frolic, engage in carefree adventure
  • Finnish: toilailla — frolic, engage in carefree adventure