berserk English · revision 150
5 Oct 2026, 22:05 by bogdan “Add pronunciation, sense history, timeline, meanings, word family, related words” current version
Changes in this edit
@@ -1,6 +1,37 @@
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈbɜːsɜːk/ ''(UK)''; /ˈbɚˌsɚk/, /ˈbəˌsɚk/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)
+
==Etymology==
− From [[berserker]], a Norse warrior, a word introduced (as ''berserkar'') by Sir Walter Scott in ''The Pirate'' (1822).^(Etymonline) It is [[bor|non|berserkr|t=raging warrior of superhuman strength]],^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) probably from ''ber-'' “bear” + ''serkr'' “shirt”, i.e. “bear-coat”.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989) Scott evidently took it instead from ''berr'' “bare”, as a warrior who fought without armour.^(Etymonline)
+ From [[berserker]], a Norse warrior, a word introduced (as ''berserkar'') by Sir Walter Scott in ''The Pirate'' (1822).^(Etymonline) It is [[bor|non|berserkr|t=raging warrior of superhuman strength]],^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) probably from ''ber-'' “bear” + ''serkr'' “shirt”, that is, “bear-coat”.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(AHD) Scott evidently took it instead from ''berr'' “bare”, as a warrior who fought without armour.^(Etymonline)
− The adjective, as in ''go berserk'', is recorded from 1844.^(Etymonline) Compare [[bear]] and [[sark]].^(Etymonline)
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ As a noun, a wild Norse warrior of great strength who fought in a frenzy (1822, or 1818 according to Merriam-Webster).^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ Such warriors wore bearskins and became frenzied in battle, howling and biting the edges of their shields.^(AHD) The adjective probably grew out of phrases such as ''berserk frenzy'', or titles like ''Arngrim the Berserk'';^(Etymonline) it is recorded from 1844, or 1851 according to Merriam-Webster,^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) and is usually used in the phrase ''go berserk''.^(MW Collegiate)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1818 – Merriam-Webster's date for the noun.^(MW Collegiate)
+ * 1822 – ''berserkar'' in Scott's ''The Pirate''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1835 – ''berserk'' as a noun.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1844 – adjective.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Violently or destructively frenzied.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Wildly unrestrained, as with enthusiasm.^(AHD)
+
+ ===Noun===
+ # A berserker, a Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # One who acts with reckless defiance.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[berserkly]]
+ * [[berserkness]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[berserker]]
+ * [[bear]]
+ * [[sark]]
==References==