barking

C2+ Topic:Animals

US /ˈbɑːrkɪŋ/ UK /ˈbɑːkɪŋ/ See IPA manual

adj noun

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;... yappingbaying mad crazy insane loony demented

Opposites

sane

Word family

Related forms barkbarker

Etymology

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

# barking

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**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

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