berserk

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English

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WOTD – 21 August 2022

Etymology

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One of the four Torslunda plates unearthed in Sweden and dated to c. 6th or 7th century C.E., which were used as dies for producing decorative hammered foils.[n 1] This plate is believed to depict, on the right, a berserk or berserker wearing a wolfskin.

The noun is borrowed from Old Norse berserkr (“Norse warrior who fights in a frenzy”), probably from bjǫrn (“bear”) + serkr (“coat; shirt”), referring to the bearskins which the warriors wore.[1][2] Bjǫrn is possibly ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“brown”); and serkr from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, tie together; thread”). Alternatively, it has been suggested that the first element of the word is from berr (“bare, naked”),[2] referring to warriors who went into battle without armour, but this is now thought unlikely.[3] Doublet of berserker.

The adjective is derived from the noun.[1]

The verb might partly be a back-formation from berserker, analyzed as containing the suffix -er.

cognates

Pronunciation

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Noun

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berserk (plural berserks)

  1. (historical) Synonym of berserker (“a Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy”)

Alternative forms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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Adjective

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berserk (comparative more berserk, superlative most berserk)

  1. Furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control.
    After seeing his sister stabbed to death, he went berserk and attacked the killer like a wild animal.
    • 1908 (date written), Rudyard Kipling, “Regulus”, in A Diversity of Creatures, London: Macmillan and Co., […], published 1917, →OCLC, page 264:
      'You went Berserk. I've read all about it in Hypatia.' […] 'You've gone Berserk and pretty soon you'll go to sleep. But you'll probably be liable to fits of it all your life,' Beetle concluded.
  2. (by extension)
    1. Bizarre; weird.
    2. (rare, dialectal, slang) Wildly joyous; ecstatic.
      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:happy
      Antonyms: see Thesaurus:unhappy

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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berserk (third-person singular simple present berserks, present participle berserking, simple past and past participle berserked)

  1. (intransitive) To be or become berserk.
    Synonym: go berserk
    • 1899 April, G[ranville] Stanley Hall, “A Study of Anger”, in The American Journal of Psychology, volume X, number 3, Worcester, Mass.: Clark University, […] Louis N. Wilson, […], page 522:
      When great champions went berserking and were angry, they lost their human nature and went mad like dogs.
    • 1958 December, Finn O’Donnevan [pseudonym; Robert Sheckley], “Join Now”, in Galaxy Magazine, volume 17, number 2, New York, N.Y.: Galaxy Publishing Corporation, page 28, column 1:
      I suppose losing one hand made Stack especially sensitive to the possible loss of another. The wound was superficial, but he berserked. He killed the native with a riot gun, then turned it on the rest of them. A lieutenant had to bludgeon him into unconsciousness before he could be stopped.
    • 1959, Francis Leary, “Rene and Marguerite d’Anjou: the tragic geste”, in The Golden Longing, London: John Murray […], published 1960, page 186:
      The oncoming horde berserked through the mine field, York field pieces going off in all directions.
    • 1966, Robert Hayden, “Electrical Storm”, in Selected Poems, New York, N.Y.: October House Inc., →LCCN, page 13:
      Last night we drove through suddenly warring weather. Wind and lightning havocked, berserked in wires, trees.
    • 1980, Krishna Srinivas, Winds, Madras: Poets Press India, →OCLC, page 59:
      You grew cool faster when danger lurked, / Yeah, learned a new yearn when senses berserked.
    • 1986, Piers Anthony, “Revolt”, in Wielding a Red Sword (Incarnations of Immortality; book four), New York, N.Y.: Del Rey Books, →ISBN, page 246:
      But the blood was in Mym’s mouth, and his berserker rage was coming upon him. No mortal man could match the reflexes and power of a berserker; the fact that Mym’s rage was controlled did not change that. “Isn’t that quaint,” Satan said. “He berserks. Perhaps this will be at least minimally entertaining.” He thrust with the spear again, and Mym dodged aside again, but the miss was narrow.
    • 1996, Sarah Harrison, Life after Lunch, London: Sceptre, →ISBN, page 9:
      The American held his serve to love, and by way of a flourish sent one of the balls up to his opponent with a courtesy ace. He followed this with a pretended prayer of thanks and a self-deprecating gesture. The crowd berserked. The camera, sneaking another quick look at the chanteuse, was rewarded with the flicker of a smile.
    • 2001, Robin D. Owens, HeartMate, New York, N.Y.: Jove Books, →ISBN, page 153:
      The vengeance stalk flashed, more fighting. Rage unleashed until he berserked. The cold FirstFamilies Guildhall. Judging eyes. Pride. Anger. Triumph.
    • 2002, Pamela Kaufman, The Book of Eleanor: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Three Rivers Press, →ISBN, page 240:
      “His enemy was France, but he destroyed his own people to be certain of their allegiance. I watched him charge against a helpless countryside. He berserks, slashes, burns—oh, he’s formidable when he wants a piece of ground. Now he covets Aquitaine.”
    • 2009, Janice Josephine Carney, “My Darkness”, in Mantras from the Great Void, Xlibris, →ISBN:
      I berserked / on my loving dog’s / puppies / Poor Molly / I killed her babies / […] / I berserked in New Hampshire / axing my children’s / chickens to death / in a complete rage / I went berserk / and attacked / the chicken coop
    • 2011, John Trevillian, The A-Men Return, Matador, →ISBN, page 35:
      First I see of the Wasters is when they berserk through the rubble.
    • 2012, Claire Sisco King, “Unhinged Heroes and Alpha Traumas”, in Washed in Blood: Male Sacrifice, Trauma, and the Cinema, New Brunswick, N.J., London: Rutgers University Press, →ISBN, page 51:
      For example, one year after Omega Man’s release Welcome Home, Soldier Boys (Richard Compton, 1972) depicts scenes of soldiers “berserking,” and Skyjacked (John Guillermin, 1972) pits an airline pilot (played by Heston as well) against a berserk Vietnam veteran hijacking a commercial airplane.
    • 2014, Mya Lairis, A Guardian’s Passion, Loose Id LLC / Lightning Source, Inc., published 2015, →ISBN, page 158:
      She came to a stop before Vaegar and Gaea, eyes darting to Fenris. “I’m sorry. Am I disturbing something? Were you about to berserk the fuck out?” she asked just as casually as she would inquire about the weather.
    • 2017, Christina Phillips, Hooked, Entangled Publishing, LLC, →ISBN:
      “I was expecting an ax-wielding berserker at the very least.” “You would,” Grace retorts, but she’s trying not to laugh. “I only berserk on Sundays.” Charity chokes on her cocktail, and Grace leans over and pats her back. “You don’t berserk at all.”
    • 2020, JD Erickson, The Adventures of the Few and Sometimes Stan, AuthorHouse, →ISBN:
      Billy was by all accounts to be a Viking. Six feet four inches tall with a blond beard down to his chest, blue grey eyes that seem to never blink when looking at you. Billy was ready to berserk on a moment’s notice and people sensed it.
    • 2020, Trish Brown, The Girl in the Mirror, Dorrance Publishing Co, →ISBN, page 139:
      He loves toying with his victims before he mutilates them. He berserks out when there’s copious amounts of blood.
    • 2023, David Bowles, Guadalupe García McCall, Secret of the Moon Conch, Bloomsbury YA, →ISBN:
      Defying musket and cannon blast, they berserk preemptively against the Tlaxcaltecah.
  2. (transitive) To make berserk.
    • 1937, Djuna Barnes, Nightwood, New Directions Publishing, published 2006, →ISBN, page 87:
      He neither knows himself nor his outriders; he berserks a fearful dimension and dismounts, miraculously, in bed!
    • 1981, Roy Bennett, Images of Summer, Sutton, Surrey: Hippopotamus Press, →ISBN, page 76:
      O holy Virgin, whereabout / Were you when all the swinish rout / Berserked the town? Those legions of the dead / Move only at the lash of lust. / Pray for us, or we die to trust— / Charred matchwood cursing Christ, who also bled.
    • 2007, Jeff Weddle, Bohemian New Orleans: The Story of the Outsider and Loujon Press, University Press of Mississippi, →ISBN, page 148:
      After a quote from Miller, calling Bukowski the “poet satyr of today’s underground,” and another from Bukowski, “Sexual intercourse is kicking death in the ass while singing,” Jon worked to lure an audience to see the “world famous poet, critic and storyteller whose Notes of a Dirty Old Man so far has sold 250,000 copies & whose All the Assholes in the World & Mine berserked the establishment to billy-club screams of outrage.”
    • 2016, Bravely Second: End Layer, Strategy Guide, Gamer Guides, →ISBN:
      It can use Slash to physically attack one character or Wrath to berserk the party.

Notes

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  1. ^ From the collection of the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm, Sweden.

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “berserk | berserker, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2021.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 “berserk, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  3. ^ See, for example, Rudolf Simek (1996) Lexikon der germanischen Mythologie, Stuttgart: Alfred Kröner, →ISBN.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Czech

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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berserk m anim

  1. berserk

Declension

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Declension of berserk (velar masculine animate)
singular plural
nominative berserk berserci, berserkové
genitive berserka berserků
dative berserkovi, berserku berserkům
accusative berserka berserky
vocative berserku berserci, berserkové
locative berserkovi, berserku berserkech
instrumental berserkem berserky

Further reading

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  • “berserk”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
  • “berserk”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

French

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French Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia fr

Etymology

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Borrowed from Old Norse berserkr.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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berserk m (plural berserks)

  1. (historical) berserk, berserker (frenzied Norse warrior)

Polish

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Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl
berserk

Etymology

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Learned borrowing from Old Norse berserkr.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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berserk m pers

  1. (historical, Norse mythology) berserker (Norse warrior who purportedly fought in a trance-like frenzy)

Declension

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Declension of berserk
singular plural
nominative berserk berserkowie
genitive berserka berserków
dative berserkowi berserkom
accusative berserka berserków
instrumental berserkiem berserkami
locative berserku berserkach
vocative berserku berserkowie

Further reading

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