Debark

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /dɪˈbɑːk/

Definitions

1. To strip the outer bark off trees or logs ; to leave or unload passengers or cargo from a ship or vehicle, especially a ship
2. The process of taking off the bark covering wood ; the act of getting off a vessel or means of transport
3. Removing the protective outer layer of wood surfaces ; the action of exiting a ship or similar mode of transportation

Etymology: The word has two unrelated histories that happen to share a spelling. The sense of stripping bark from wood comes from English "de-" (a prefix meaning "remove" or "reverse") attached to "bark," the covering of a tree, which is a native English word. Making a tree bare of its outer layer is the literal meaning, and the verb is simply the stripping process named by that combination. The sense of getting off a ship or aircraft is a different story. It was borrowed from French "débarquer," itself built from "de-" (inherited through Old French "des-") and "barque," meaning a small ship. Its root sense is therefore "to unload from a boat," and the English word kept that nautical meaning, later widening to any vehicle. The verb with the transport sense shows the French origin most clearly. Its ancestor "barque" is related to the same boat-word that produced "bark" in the ship sense, so the nautical meaning has deep roots, even though the tree-covering "bark" is a separate English word.

Synonyms: disembark, unload, alight, exit, leave

Antonyms: embark, board, enter, get on, climb aboard