skylark

As far as we know, people were skylarking at sea before they were larking on land. Skylarking was originally a term used by seamen for their scampering about on the rigging of ships. The first known use of the word in print is from 1809, though the term was probably part of the sailor's vernacular before that. Lark, meaning "to engage in harmless fun or mischief," isn't attested in writing until 1813. Whether or not the meanings of these words came about from the song and/or behavior of birds is uncertain. One theory of the verb lark is that it began as a misinterpretation of the verb lake, which in British dialect means "to play or frolic."