He pronounces the citation stark nonsense.
Collier.
Rhetoric is very good or stark naught; there's no medium in
rhetoric.
Selden.
Stark (?), adv. Wholly; entirely; absolutely; quite; as, stark mind.
Shak.
Held him strangled in his arms till he was stark dead.
Fuller.
Stark naked, wholly naked; quite bare.
Strip your sword stark naked.
Shak.
According to Professor Skeat, "stark-naked" is derived from
steort-naked, or start-naked, literally tail-naked, and hence wholly
naked. If this etymology be true the preferable form is stark-naked.