Hark vs Nark - What's the difference?
hark | nark |
To listen attentively; often used in the imperative.
* 1739 , “Hymn for Christmas-Day”, Hymns and Sacred Poems, (Charles Wesley) and (George Whitefield):
* 1906: ,
* 1959: , A Christmas Carol
(British, slang) A police spy or informer.
* 1912 , , Act I,
(slang) To serve or behave as a spy or informer.
(slang) To annoy or irritate.
(slang) To complain.
(transitive, slang, often imperative) To stop.
As verbs the difference between hark and nark
is that hark is to listen attentively; often used in the imperative while nark is (slang) to serve or behave as a spy or informer.As a noun nark is
(british|slang) a police spy or informer or nark can be (narcotics officer).hark
English
Alternative forms
* (l) (obsolete)Verb
(en verb)- “Glory to the new born King,
The Four Million][http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/ot2www-pubeng?specfile=/texts/english/modeng/publicsearch/modengpub.o2w&act=surround&offset=354518751&tag=Henry,+O.,+1862-1910:+The+four+million;,+1906&query=+harking&id=HenFour
- Loud voices and a renewed uproar were raised in front of the boarding-house..."'Tis Missis Murphy's voice," said Mrs. McCaskey, harking .
- "Hark ! The Herald Tribune sings, / Advertising wondrous things!"
Derived terms
* hark backnark
English
(wikipedia nark)Etymology 1
From (etyl) nak.Alternative forms
* narcNoun
(en noun)- It’s a—well, it’s a copper’s nark , as you might say. What else would you call it? A sort of informer.
Verb
(en verb)- It really narks me when people smoke in restaurants.
- He narks in my ear all day, moaning about his problems.
- Nark it! I hear someone coming!
