cark

verb

\ ˈkärk \

-ed/-ing/-s

Definition of cark

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

: to burden with care or anxiety : vex, worry, trouble fate had not smiled on him … he was beset by carking troubles and anxieties— Max Beerbohm

intransitive verb

1 : to be anxious or troubled : fret a covetous man … carking about his bags— Isaac Barrow

2 : to labor anxiously why for sluggards cark and moil?— Charles Kingsley

cark

noun

\ " \

plural -s

Definition of cark (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : something that burdens the spirit : trouble its artless advocacy of freedom from cark and care — Harper's

2 : a troubled state of mind : distress by cark and care deranged— Robert Browning

History and Etymology for cark

Verb

Middle English carken, literally, to load, burden, from Old North French carquier, from Late Latin carricare

Noun

Middle English, literally, load, burden, from Old North French carque, from carquier, verb

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Cite this Entry

“Cark.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cark. Accessed 27 Feb. 2021.

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