Late Middle English; earliest use found in Joseph of Arimathie: otherwise called The romance of the seint graal, or holy grail, an alliterative poem. From stark + dead.
Definition of stark dead in US English:
stark dead
adjectiveˌstɑːk ˈdɛd
Completely and unmistakably dead.
Origin
Late Middle English; earliest use found in Joseph of Arimathie: otherwise called The romance of the seint graal, or holy grail, an alliterative poem. From stark + dead.