Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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noun
A Norse warrior who purportedly fought in a trance-like frenzy; a berserk.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
One who fights as if frenzied, like a berserker.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A type of von Neumann probe whose mission is to exterminate alien lifeforms.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly
Topics: literature, media, publishing, science-fiction
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
one of the ancient Norse warriors legendary for working themselves into a frenzy before a battle and fighting with reckless savagery and insane fury
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: berserk
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: Scandinavian, Norse, Northman
History
Borrowed from Old Norse berserkr (“Norse warrior who fights with frenzy”), probably from bjǫrn (“bear”) + serkr (“coat; shirt”), referring to the bearskins worn by the warriors. 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”), suggesting warriors who went into battle without armour, but this is now thought unlikely. Doublet of berserk. The word was introduced in English by the Scottish author and historian Walter Scott (1771–1832) in Illustrations of Northern Antiquities (1814) (spelled berserkir), and in his novel The Pirate (1822) (spelled berserkar). The sense “type of von Neumann probe whose mission is to exterminate alien lifeforms” was coined by the American author Fred Saberhagen (1930–2007) in 1963 in his Berserker series of novels and short stories. Cognates * Icelandic berserkur * Swedish bärsärk
Across languages
20 source translations are retained for this English entry.
