/ lɑːk; NAmE lɑːrk/ noun , verb
■ noun
1.
a small brown bird with a pleasant song
—see also skylark
2.
[ usually sing. ] ( informal ) a thing that you do for fun or as a joke :
The boys didn't mean any harm—they just did it for a lark.
3.
( BrE , informal ) (used after another noun) an activity that you think is a waste of time or that you do not take seriously :
Perhaps this riding lark would be more fun than she'd thought.
•
IDIOMS
- be / get up with the lark
- blow / sod that for a lark
■ verb
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- lark about / around
••
WORD ORIGIN
noun sense 1 and be / get up with the lark. Old English lāferce , lǣwerce ; related to Dutch leeuwerik and German Lerche ; of unknown ultimate origin.
noun senses 2 to 3 and verb blow / sod that for a lark. early 19th cent.: perhaps from dialect lake play , from Old Norse leika , but compare with skylark in the same sense, which is recorded earlier.