barking C2+ Topic:Animals US /ˈbɑːrkɪŋ/ UK /ˈbɑːkɪŋ/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj making a dog's sharp cry; British slang for mad or crazy You must be barking to swim in that freezing sea. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · making a dog's sharp cry;... yappingbayingmadcrazyinsaneloonydemented ↔ Opposites sane Word family Related forms barkbarker Etymology AI details From Old English beorcan ('to bark'), of Germanic origin and probably imitative; the slang sense 'mad' is short for 'barking mad'. beorcan Old English *berkaną Proto-Germanic View etymology graph -> Topics Animals Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # barking **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈbɑːrkɪŋ/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈbɑːkɪŋ/ ## Meanings 1. making a dog's sharp cry; British slang for mad or crazy ## Examples - You must be barking to swim in that freezing sea. ## Synonyms - yapping - baying - mad - crazy - insane - loony - demented ## Antonyms - sane ## Related Forms - bark - barker ## Roots and Affixes - Root: beorcan - Root: *berkaną ## Etymology From Old English beorcan ('to bark'), of Germanic origin and probably imitative; the slang sense 'mad' is short for 'barking mad'. ## AI Etymology Barking is from Old English beorcan ('to bark'), of Germanic origin and probably imitative; the slang sense 'mad' is short for 'barking mad'. Important recorded forms include beorcan (Old English) and *berkaną (Proto-Germanic). Its deeper history remains uncertain, with proposed links left as possibilities rather than a single settled derivation. The current sense covers making a dog's sharp cry; British slang for mad or crazy. The wider family includes related words such as bark and barker. ## Topics - Animals - Word Formation & Derivatives - Register & Style markdown