"hardy, slender northern forest tree noted for its white bark," Old English berc, beorc (also the name of the rune for "b"), from Proto-Germanic *berkjon (source also of Old Saxon birka, Old Norse börk, Danish birk, Swedish and Icelandic björk (which is also a girl's given name), Middle Dutch berke, Dutch berk, Old High German birihha, German Birke).

This is from PIE *bhergo (source also of Ossetian barz, Old Church Slavonic breza, Russian bereza, Lithuanian beržas, Sanskrit bhurjah, all names of birch-like trees, Latin fraxinus "mountain ash"), from root *bhereg- "to shine; bright, white," in reference to the bark. Birch beer is by 1827, American English.

Old English rinde "bark of a tree or other plant," also figurative; also "a crust, firm outer coating or covering;" later "peel of a fruit or vegetable" (late 14c.), from Proto-Germanic *rind- (source also of Old Saxon rinda, Middle Dutch and Dutch rinde "bark of a tree," Old High German rinda "crust, bark," German Rinde "crust, crust of bread"), which is perhaps related to Old English rendan (source of rend (v.)); Boutkan suggests the group might be from a PIE root *(H)rendh-. The meaning "skin of a person or animal" (as in pork rind) is by 1510s.

early 14c., "seagoing vessel of moderate size with sails," from Old French barge "boat, ship," Old Provençal barca, from Medieval Latin barga, perhaps from Celtic, or perhaps from Latin *barica, from Greek baris "Egyptian boat," from Coptic bari "small boat."

From late 14c. as "river craft; barge used on state occasions; raft for ferrying;" the meaning "flat-bottomed freight boat" dates from late 15c. In former times also "a magnificently adorned, elegant boat of state," for royalty, magistrates, etc. (1580s).

late 14c., "a dog;" late 15c., "noisy fellow;" agent noun from bark (v.). Specific sense of "loud assistant in an auction, store, or show" is from 1690s.

1640s, American English, from birch (n.) + bark (n.1). Old English had beorcrind.

"to strip the bark off" (a tree), 1742, from de- "from, off" + bark (n.1). Related: Debarked; debarking.

1540s (transitive), "to put on board a ship or other vessel;" 1570s (intransitive), "to go on board ship, as when setting out on a voyage," from French embarquer, from assimilated form of en- "in" (see en- (1)) + barque "small ship" (see bark (n.)). Related: Embarked; embarking.

type of hickory noted for yielding the best hickory nuts, 1751, American English, from shag (n.) + bark (n.1). The name was earlier given to a type of West Indian tree (1690s).

1796 as the name of a type of hickory of eastern North America, short for shellbark hickory, from shell (n.) + bark (n.1).

variant of bark (n.2).