starkers
English
editEtymology
edit- "naked": British slang, from 1923, combining (like a popular etymology) two meanings of stark (“strong, utterly; barren”) with stark naked, which is from Old English steort (“tail”), referring to the tail-end (as in butt-naked).
- "crazy": stark (“shortening of stark raving mad”) + -ers
Pronunciation
editAdjective
editstarkers (not comparable)
- (chiefly British, slang) Completely nude.
- Entering the bathroom, I found Bill there, still starkers after his bath.
- (informal) Stark raving mad.
Synonyms
edit- see Thesaurus:nude
Antonyms
editDerived terms
editRelated terms
editTranslations
editcompletely nude — see also stark naked
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References
edit- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “stark”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.