Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word berserk. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word berserk, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say berserk in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word berserk you have here. The definition of the word berserk will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofberserk, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
The noun is borrowed from Old Norseberserkr(“Norse warrior who fights in a frenzy”), probably from bjǫrn(“bear”) + serkr(“coat; shirt”), referring to the bearskins which the warriors wore.[1][2]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”),[2] referring to warriors who went into battle without armour, but this is now thought unlikely.[3]Doublet of berserker.
She had heard of his profligacy, his bursts of fierce Berserk-madness; and yet now these very faults, instead of repelling, seemed to attract her, and intensify her longing to save him.
'You went Berserk. I've read all about it in Hypatia.' […] 'You've gone Berserk and pretty soon you'll go to sleep. But you'll probably be liable to fits of it all your life,' Beetle concluded.
In amongst the strife, Scott McTominay, whose stoppage-time winner against Israel sent Hampden berserk, and Ryan Christie offered signs of an attacking pulse.
When great champions went berserking and were angry, they lost their human nature and went mad like dogs.
1958 December, Finn O’Donnevan [pseudonym; Robert Sheckley], “Join Now”, in Galaxy Magazine, volume 17, number 2, New York, N.Y.: Galaxy Publishing Corporation, page 28, column 1:
I suppose losing one hand made Stack especially sensitive to the possible loss of another. The wound was superficial, but he berserked. He killed the native with a riot gun, then turned it on the rest of them. A lieutenant had to bludgeon him into unconsciousness before he could be stopped.
1959, Francis Leary, “Rene and Marguerite d’Anjou: the tragic geste”, in The Golden Longing, London: John Murray, published 1960, page 186:
The oncoming horde berserked through the mine field, York field pieces going off in all directions.
1966, Robert Hayden, “Electrical Storm”, in Selected Poems, New York, N.Y.: October House Inc., →LCCN, page 13:
Last night we drove through suddenly warring weather. Wind and lightning havocked, berserked in wires, trees.
But the blood was in Mym’s mouth, and his berserker rage was coming upon him. No mortal man could match the reflexes and power of a berserker; the fact that Mym’s rage was controlled did not change that. “Isn’t that quaint,” Satan said. “He berserks. Perhaps this will be at least minimally entertaining.” He thrust with the spear again, and Mym dodged aside again, but the miss was narrow.
The American held his serve to love, and by way of a flourish sent one of the balls up to his opponent with a courtesy ace. He followed this with a pretended prayer of thanks and a self-deprecating gesture. The crowd berserked. The camera, sneaking another quick look at the chanteuse, was rewarded with the flicker of a smile.
The vengeance stalk flashed, more fighting. Rage unleashed until he berserked. The cold FirstFamilies Guildhall. Judging eyes. Pride. Anger. Triumph.
2002, Pamela Kaufman, The Book of Eleanor: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Three Rivers Press, →ISBN, page 240:
“His enemy was France, but he destroyed his own people to be certain of their allegiance. I watched him charge against a helpless countryside. He berserks, slashes, burns—oh, he’s formidable when he wants a piece of ground. Now he covets Aquitaine.”
2009, Janice Josephine Carney, “My Darkness”, in Mantras from the Great Void, Xlibris, →ISBN:
I berserked / on my loving dog’s / puppies / Poor Molly / I killed her babies / […] / I berserked in New Hampshire / axing my children’s / chickens to death / in a complete rage / I went berserk / and attacked / the chicken coop
2011, John Trevillian, The A-Men Return, Matador, →ISBN, page 35:
First I see of the Wasters is when they berserk through the rubble.
2012, Claire Sisco King, “Unhinged Heroes and Alpha Traumas”, in Washed in Blood: Male Sacrifice, Trauma, and the Cinema, New Brunswick, N.J., London: Rutgers University Press, →ISBN, page 51:
For example, one year after Omega Man’s release Welcome Home, Soldier Boys (Richard Compton, 1972) depicts scenes of soldiers “berserking,” and Skyjacked (John Guillermin, 1972) pits an airline pilot (played by Heston as well) against a berserk Vietnam veteran hijacking a commercial airplane.
She came to a stop before Vaegar and Gaea, eyes darting to Fenris. “I’m sorry. Am I disturbing something? Were you about to berserk the fuck out?” she asked just as casually as she would inquire about the weather.
2017, Christina Phillips, Hooked, Entangled Publishing, LLC, →ISBN:
“I was expecting an ax-wielding berserker at the very least.” “You would,” Grace retorts, but she’s trying not to laugh. “I only berserk on Sundays.” Charity chokes on her cocktail, and Grace leans over and pats her back. “You don’t berserk at all.”
2020, JD Erickson, The Adventures of the Few and Sometimes Stan, AuthorHouse, →ISBN:
Billy was by all accounts to be a Viking. Six feet four inches tall with a blond beard down to his chest, blue grey eyes that seem to never blink when looking at you. Billy was ready to berserk on a moment’s notice and people sensed it.
He neither knows himself nor his outriders; he berserks a fearful dimension and dismounts, miraculously, in bed!
1981, Roy Bennett, Images of Summer, Sutton, Surrey: Hippopotamus Press, →ISBN, page 76:
O holy Virgin, whereabout / Were you when all the swinish rout / Berserked the town? Those legions of the dead / Move only at the lash of lust. / Pray for us, or we die to trust— / Charred matchwood cursing Christ, who also bled.
After a quote from Miller, calling Bukowski the “poet satyr of today’s underground,” and another from Bukowski, “Sexual intercourse is kicking death in the ass while singing,” Jon worked to lure an audience to see the “world famous poet, critic and storyteller whose Notes of a Dirty Old Man so far has sold 250,000 copies & whose All the Assholes in the World & Mineberserked the establishment to billy-club screams of outrage.”
2016, Bravely Second: End Layer, Strategy Guide, Gamer Guides, →ISBN:
It can use Slash to physically attack one character or Wrath to berserk the party.