ber·serk
Audio Help [ber-surk, -zurk] Pronunciation Key
Audio Help [ber-surk, -zurk] Pronunciation Key –adjective
–noun
| 1. | violently or destructively frenzied; wild; crazed; deranged: He suddenly went berserk. |
| 2. | (sometimes initial capital letter ) Scandinavian Legend. Also, ber·serk·er. an ancient Norse warrior who fought with frenzied rage in battle, possibly induced by eating hallucinogenic mushrooms. |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
berserk
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| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| ber·serk
Audio Help (bər-sûrk', -zûrk', bə-) Pronunciation Key
adj.
n.
[Back-formation from berserker.] ber·serk' adv., ber·serk'ly adv. Word History: When we say that we are going berserk, we may not realize how extreme a state this might be. Our adjective comes from the noun berserker, or berserk, which is from the Old Norse word berserkr, "a wild warrior or champion." Such warriors wore hides of bears, which explains the probable origin of berserkr as a compound of *bera, "bear," and serkr, "shirt, coat." These berserkers became frenzied in battle, howling like animals, foaming at the mouth, and biting the edges of their iron shields. Berserker is first recorded in English in the early 19th century, long after these wild warriors ceased to exist. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
berserk
1822, introduced by Sir Walter Scott, from O.N. berserkr (n.) "raging warrior of superhuman strength," probably from *ber- "bear" + serkr "shirt," thus lit. "a warrior clothed in bearskin." The -r was O.N. masc. singular ending, mistaken for agent noun suffix. The adj. is 1867, from such phrases as go berserk.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| berserk | |
adjective | |
| 1. | frenzied as if possessed by a demon; "the soldier was completely amuck"; "berserk with grief"; "a berserk worker smashing windows" [syn: amuck] |
noun | |
| 1. | one of the ancient Norse warriors legendary for working themselves into a frenzy before a battle and fighting with reckless savagery and insane fury [syn: berserker] |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
Berserk
Ber"serk\, Berserker \Ber"serk*er\, n. [Icel. berserkr.]1. (Scand. Myth.) One of a class of legendary heroes, who fought frenzied by intoxicating liquors, and naked, regardless of wounds. --Longfellow. 2. One who fights as if frenzied, like a Berserker.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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