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berserk - 5 dictionary results

ber⋅serk

  [ber-surk, -zurk]
Use berserk in a Sentence
–adjective
1. violently or destructively frenzied; wild; crazed; deranged: He suddenly went berserk.
–noun
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.
Origin:
1865–70; < ON berserkr, equiv. to ber- (either *ber-, base of bjǫrn bear 2 or berr bare 1 ) + serkr sark, shirt, armor

Related forms:
ber⋅serk⋅ly, adverb
ber⋅serk⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. violent, mad, maniacal, rabid, demented, lunatic.

Antonyms:
1. rational, calm.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ber·serk   (bər-sûrk', -zûrk', bə-)   
adj.  
  1. Destructively or frenetically violent: a berserk worker who started smashing all the windows.
  2. Mentally or emotionally upset; deranged: berserk with grief.
  3. Informal Unrestrained, as with enthusiasm or appetite; wild: berserk over chocolates.
n.  
  1. One that is violent, upset, or unrestrained.
  2. A berserker.

[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 © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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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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
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Main Entry: ber·serk
Pronunciation: b&(r)-'s&rk, "b&r-, -'z&rk, 'b&r-"
Function: adjective
: marked by crazed or frenzied behaviorsuggestive of sudden mental imbalance —usually used in the phrase go berserk —berserk adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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