dark

A1 Topic:Senses & Perception

US /dɑɹk/ UK /dɑːk/ See IPA manual

Freq #750

Meanings

1

noun
The absence of light.

The children were afraid of the dark.
2

adj
Deep or strong in shade rather than light or pale.

She wore a dark green coat.
3

adj
(of hair, skin, or eyes) brown or black rather than fair.

He has dark hair and brown eyes.
4

adj
Sad, gloomy, or threatening in mood.

The film explores some very dark themes.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the absence of light. darkness shadow

4 adj · sad, gloomy, or threatening... gloomy grim

More blear caliginous cimmerian crepuscular darkling darksome dim dimpsy dingy dull dusk dusky

Opposites

bright glowing light lit luminiferous luminous radiant shining sunny

Word family

Forms darkerdarkestdarkingdarks

Derived forms antidarkbedarkdark-activitydark-adapteddark-coloreddark-eyeddark-haireddark-hearteddark-horsedark-lanterndark-lanthorndark-side

Related forms black darken darkling darkness shadow

Etymology

From Middle English derk, from Old English deorc, from Proto-West Germanic *derk (“dark”), of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerg- (“dim, dull”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- (“dull, dirty”).

derk Middle English deorc Old English *derk Proto-West Germanic *dʰerg- Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

External links

# dark

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /dɑɹk/
**IPA (UK):** /dɑːk/
**Frequency rank:** 750

## Meanings
1. The absence of light.
2. Deep or strong in shade rather than light or pale.
3. (of hair, skin, or eyes) brown or black rather than fair.
4. Sad, gloomy, or threatening in mood.

## Examples
- The children were afraid of the dark.
- She wore a dark green coat.
- He has dark hair and brown eyes.
- The film explores some very dark themes.

## Synonyms
- blear
- caliginous
- cimmerian
- crepuscular
- darkling
- darksome
- dim
- dimpsy
- dingy
- dull
- dusk
- dusky

## Antonyms
- bright
- glowing
- light
- lit
- luminiferous
- luminous
- radiant
- shining
- sunny

## Derived Forms
- antidark
- bedark
- dark-activity
- dark-adapted
- dark-colored
- dark-eyed
- dark-haired
- dark-hearted
- dark-horse
- dark-lantern
- dark-lanthorn
- dark-side

## Related Forms
- black
- darken
- darkling
- darkness
- shadow

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: derk
- Root: deorc
- Root: *derk
- Root: *dʰerg-
- Root: *dʰer-

## Etymology
From Middle English derk, from Old English deorc, from Proto-West Germanic *derk (“dark”), of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerg- (“dim, dull”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- (“dull, dirty”).

## AI Etymology
dark comes from Middle English derk, from Old English deorc, from Proto-West Germanic *derk (“dark”), of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerg- (“dim, dull”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- (“dull, dirty”). The historical chain includes Middle English derk, Old English deorc, Proto-West Germanic *derk, Proto-Indo-European *dʰerg-, Proto-Indo-European *dʰer-. Current senses include The absence of light and Deep or strong in shade rather than light or pale. English relatives and later formations include antidark, bedark, dark-activity, black, darken.

## Topics
- Senses & Perception

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dark

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