berk

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See also: Berk and bərk

English

Etymology

Cockney rhyming slang, an ellipsis and clipping of Berkeley Hunt, a prominent hunt at Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, to mean cunt.

Pronunciation

Noun

berk (plural berks)

  1. (UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, slang, derogatory, vulgar) a fool, a prat, a twit, etc.
    • 2003 July 12, Nicholas Lezard, “Ad execs quoting Gramsci? Only in France”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:
      His chat-up techniques have to be read to be imagined—they make the crudest of Loaded-style berks seem classy—and he earns far, far too much money.
    • 2006 February 3, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, season 1, episode 2:
      I don't know why they couldn't just keep it as it was! How hard is it to remember 911?
      You mean 999...
      I mean 999!
      That's the American one!
      Yeah!
      You berk.

Usage notes

Although the term remains in fairly wide use, its specific origin and meaning in rhyming slang is less well known, lessening its vulgarity.

Synonyms

See also

References

Anagrams

Albanian

Etymology 1

From berr (cf. derk from derr).

Noun

berk m (plural berqe, definite berku, definite plural berqet)

  1. goat
Declension
Declension of berk
indefinite definite
singular plural singular plural
nominative berk berqe berku berqet
accusative berkun
dative berku berqeve berkut berqevet
ablative berqesh
Related terms

Etymology 2

From Proto-Albanian *bardz(i)ka, from *bardza > bardhë (“white”). Similar sense development as in barmë.

Noun

berk m (plural berqe, definite berku, definite plural berqet)

  1. (botany) sapwood, alburnum
  2. (dialectal) bark
Declension
Declension of berk
indefinite definite
singular plural singular plural
nominative berk berqe berku berqet
accusative berkun
dative berku berqeve berkut berqevet
ablative berqesh
Related terms

References

  1. ^ Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “berk”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 21

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch berke, from Old Dutch *berka, from Proto-West Germanic *berku, from Proto-Germanic *berkō, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerHǵós.

Pronunciation

Noun

berk m (plural berken, diminutive berkje n)

  1. birch, tree of the genus Betula
    Synonym: berkenboom

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Afrikaans: berk

French

Pronunciation

Interjection

berk

  1. Alternative form of beurk: yuck!

Old Norse

Contraction

berk

  1. (bragarmál) Contraction of ber ek.

Turkish

Etymology 1

From Ottoman Turkish برك (berk), from Proto-Turkic *berk (“mighty”). Related to pek.

Adjective

berk

  1. strong, hard, robust, violent
    Synonyms: sert, katı
  2. heroic
  3. firm, solid
    Synonym: sağlam

References

Etymology 2

From Ottoman Turkish برق (berk), from Arabic بَرْق (barq).

Noun

berk (definite accusative berki, plural berkler) (archaic)

  1. lightning

References

  • Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “berk2”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
  • Avery, Robert et al., editors (2013), The Redhouse Dictionary Turkish/Ottoman English, 21st edition, Istanbul: Sev Yayıncılık, →ISBN
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