'barking' originates from English, formed by adding the suffix '-ing' to the verb 'bark', where 'bark' is an imitative (onomatopoeic) word representing the sound made by a dog.

'bark' appears in Middle English as 'barken' or 'berken' and is recorded from Old English and various Germanic imitative forms; the modern present participle form 'barking' developed by regular addition of '-ing' in later English.

Initially, it meant 'to make the short, sharp cry of a dog' and that core meaning has remained; over time it also formed idioms and figurative senses (for example 'barking mad').