berserk

berserk
berserkly, adv.berserkness, n.
/beuhr serrk", -zerrk"/, adj.
1. violently or destructively frenzied; wild; crazed; deranged: He suddenly went berserk.
n.
2. (sometimes cap.) Scand. Legend. Also, berserker. an ancient Norse warrior who fought with frenzied rage in battle, possibly induced by eating hallucinogenic mushrooms.
[1865-70; < ON berserkr, equiv. to ber- (either *ber-, base of bjorn BEAR2 or berr BARE1) + serkr SARK, shirt, armor]
Syn. 1. violent, mad, maniacal, rabid, demented, lunatic.
Ant. 1. rational, calm.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Berserk — Originaltitel ベルセルク Transkription Beruseruku …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • berserk — (adj.) 1844, from berserk (n.) Norse warrior, by 1835, an alternative form of BERSERKER (Cf. berserker) (1822), a word which was introduced by Sir Walter Scott, from O.N. berserkr (n.) raging warrior of superhuman strength; probably from *ber… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Berserk — or berzerk can refer to: * A berserker, a fierce warrior, often associated with Norsemen * Berserk (manga), a Japanese manga and, later, anime series * A status effect in a variety of role playing games, which generally causes the affected… …   Wikipedia

  • Berserk — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Berserk puede referirse a: Berserk, serie de manga y anime. Berserk, la banda de thrash metal, originaria de El Salvador. Véase también: Berserker Obtenido de Berserk Categoría: Wikipedia:Desambiguación …   Wikipedia Español

  • berserk — meaning ‘wild, frenzied’, is now mostly confined to the expression to go berserk. It is in origin a Norse word for a warrior who fought with wild fury. Berserk may be pronounced either bǝ zerk or bǝ serk, although the first is now more common …   Modern English usage

  • Berserk — Ber*serk (b[ e]r*s[ e]rk ; b[ e]r*z[ e]rk ; b[ e]r s[ e]rk) a. [See {berserk}, n.] frenzied; crazed; usually in predicate position. [PJC] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 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. [1913 Webster] 2. One who fights as if frenzied …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • berserk — index frenetic Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • berserk — [adj] crazed crazy, demented, deranged, insane, mad, maniacal, manic, violent; concept 403 …   New thesaurus

  • berserk — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ out of control; wild and frenzied. ► NOUN (also berserker) ▪ an ancient Norse warrior who fought with frenzy. ORIGIN Old Norse, probably from bjorn bear + serkr coat , or possibly from berr bare (i.e. without armour) …   English terms dictionary

  • berserk — [bər sʉrk′, bərzʉrk′; bəsʉrk′] n. [see BERSERKER] a berserker adj., adv. in or into a state of violent or destructive rage or frenzy …   English World dictionary

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