nark

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /nɑːk/, enPR: näk
• (US) IPA^(key): /nɑːɹk/, enPR: närk

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)k

Etymology 1

Uncertain. Perhaps from Angloromani nok (“nose”), from Romani nakh, from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀡𑀓𑁆𑀓 (ṇakka), ultimately a doublet of nose.

Alternative forms

• narc

Noun

nark (plural narks)

1. (British, Ireland, slang) A police spy or informer.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:informant

   • 1879 October, J[ohn] W[illiam] Horsley, “Autobiography of a Thief in Thieves’ Language”, in Macmillan’s Magazine, volume XL, number 240, London: Macmillan and Co. […], →OCLC, page 505, column 1:

     So I went and laid down on the grass. While laying there I piped a reeler whom I knew. He had a nark (a policeman's spy) with him. So I went and looked about for my two pals, and told them to look out for F. and his nark.

   • 1912 (date written), [George] Bernard Shaw, “Pygmalion”, in Androcles and the Lion, Overruled, Pygmalion, London: Constable and Company, published 1916, →OCLC, Act I, pages 109–110:

     the bystander. […] She thought you was a copper's nark, sir. / the note taker [with quick interest] Whats a copper's nark? / the bystander [inapt at definition] It's a—well, it's a copper's nark, as you might say. What else would you call it? A sort of informer.

   • 1938 April, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter XII, in Homage to Catalonia, London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC:

     When we got to the Chief of Police's office a crowd of the most dreadful-looking scoundrels, obviously police narks, informers, and spies of every kind, were hanging about outside the door.

2. (Australia, slang) An unpleasant person, especially one who makes things difficult for others.

   Synonyms: spoilsport; see also Thesaurus:jerk, Thesaurus:git

Related terms

• (police spy): copper's nark

Translations

police spy

• Armenian: խուզարկու (hy) (xuzarku), լրտես (hy) (lrtes)
• Bulgarian: агент (bg) m (agent)
• Dutch: informant (nl)
• German: Spitzel (de) m, Informant (de) m, Polizeispitzel (de) m
• Portuguese: bufo (pt)
• Romanian: turnător (ro) m
• Russian: стукач (ru) m (stukač) (slang)

Verb

nark (third-person singular simple present narks, present participle narking, simple past and past participle narked)

1. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) (transitive, thieves' cant) To watch; to observe.
2. (intransitive, slang) To serve or behave as a spy or informer; to tattle.

   Synonyms: rat, tattle; see also Thesaurus:rat out

   “If you nark on me, I’ll rip your arms off,” said Tim to his brother, as he passed him a joint.

3. (transitive, slang) To annoy or irritate.

   It really narks me when people smoke in restaurants.

4. (intransitive, slang) To complain.

   He narks in my ear all day, moaning about his problems.

5. (transitive, slang, often imperative) To stop.

   Nark it! I hear someone coming!

Derived terms

• (watch): nark it (“look out”)
• (inform on): narking dues

Translations

serve as a spy

• Bulgarian: доноснича (bg) (donosniča)
• German: verpetzen (de), verraten (de)
• Romanian: turna (ro)

annoy

• Dutch: op iemands zenuwen werken
• German: nerven (de)

complain

• Dutch: (West-Flemish) neuten (nl), (Brabantian) zagen (nl)

stop

• Dutch: (Netherlands) kappen (nl), ophouden (nl)

Etymology 2

See narc.

Noun

nark (plural narks)

1. Alternative form of narc (narcotics officer).

References

• “nark”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.

Anagrams

• ARNK, knar, Karn, Kanr, kran, Rank, karn, rank