"berserker" meaning in English

See berserker in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈbɜːsɜːkə/ [Received-Pronunciation], /bəˈzɜːkə/ [Received-Pronunciation], /bɜː-/ [Received-Pronunciation], /-ˈsɜːkə/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈbɚˌsɚkɚ/ [General-American], /bɚˈzɚkɚ/ [General-American] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-berserker.wav Forms: berserkers [plural]
Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)kə(ɹ) Etymology: 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 Etymology templates: {{circa2|6th or 7th century|short=1}} c. 6th or 7th century, {{C.E.}} C.E., {{ref|From the collection of the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm, Sweden.|group=n|name=n1}}, {{root|en|ine-pro|*bʰerH-|*ser-|id=brown|id2=bind}}, {{bor|en|non|berserkr|t=Norse warrior who fights with frenzy}} Old Norse berserkr (“Norse warrior who fights with frenzy”), {{!}} |, {{der|en|ine-pro|*bʰerH-|t=brown}} Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“brown”), {{der|en|ine-pro|*ser-|t=to bind, tie together; thread}} Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, tie together; thread”), {{doublet|en|berserk}} Doublet of berserk, {{nb...|London}} […], {{coinage|en|Fred Saberhagen|nat=the American|nobycat=1|nocap=1|occ=author}} coined by the American author Fred Saberhagen, {{cog|is|berserkur}} Icelandic berserkur, {{cog|sv|bärsärk}} Swedish bärsärk Head templates: {{en-noun}} berserker (plural berserkers)
  1. (historical) A Norse warrior who purportedly fought in a trance-like frenzy; a berserk. Tags: historical Categories (topical): People Translations (Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy): 巴薩卡 (Chinese Mandarin), 巴萨卡 (bāsàkǎ) (Chinese Mandarin), 狂戰士 (Chinese Mandarin), 狂战士 (kuángzhànshì) (Chinese Mandarin), berserk [masculine] (Czech), bersærk [common-gender] (Danish), berserker [masculine] (Dutch), berserkur [masculine] (Faroese), berserkki (Finnish), Berserker [masculine] (German), Berserk [masculine] (German), berserkur [masculine] (Icelandic), ベルセルク (beruseruku) (Japanese), バーザーカー (bāzākā) (Japanese), berserk (Norwegian), berserk [masculine] (Polish), берсе́ркер (bersérker) [masculine] (Russian), берсе́рк (bersérk) [masculine] (Russian), береза́рк (berezárk) [masculine] (Russian), bärsärk [common-gender] (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-berserker-en-noun-X2kGos69 Disambiguation of People: 48 19 32 Disambiguation of 'Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy': 70 15 15
  2. (by extension)
    One who fights as if frenzied, like a berserker.
    Tags: broadly
    Sense id: en-berserker-en-noun-tJ1Z4TjC
  3. (by extension)
    (science fiction) A type of von Neumann probe whose mission is to exterminate alien lifeforms.
    Tags: broadly Categories (topical): Science fiction, Astronautics, Violence
    Sense id: en-berserker-en-noun-ECHmd7VK Disambiguation of Astronautics: 15 16 69 Disambiguation of Violence: 25 15 60 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Czech translations, Terms with Danish translations, Terms with Dutch translations, Terms with Faroese translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Icelandic translations, Terms with Japanese translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Norwegian translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Interstellar travel Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 16 17 67 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 23 30 47 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 15 15 69 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 14 16 70 Disambiguation of Terms with Czech translations: 34 18 48 Disambiguation of Terms with Danish translations: 28 18 54 Disambiguation of Terms with Dutch translations: 20 23 57 Disambiguation of Terms with Faroese translations: 33 19 48 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 35 18 47 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 23 26 51 Disambiguation of Terms with Icelandic translations: 32 17 51 Disambiguation of Terms with Japanese translations: 19 22 59 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 31 17 52 Disambiguation of Terms with Norwegian translations: 34 19 48 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 33 19 48 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 22 21 56 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 32 16 51 Disambiguation of Interstellar travel: 4 2 94 Topics: literature, media, publishing, science-fiction
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: berserkar, berserkir, berzerker, beserker [common, misspelling]

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

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  "etymology_text": "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.\nThe 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.\ncognates\n* Icelandic berserkur\n* Swedish bärsärk",
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  "lang_code": "en",
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          "Norse",
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          "fight#Verb"
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        "(historical) A Norse warrior who purportedly fought in a trance-like frenzy; a berserk."
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          "_dis1": "70 15 15",
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          "word": "berserkur"
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          "_dis1": "70 15 15",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "beruseruku",
          "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
          "word": "ベルセルク"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "70 15 15",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "bāzākā",
          "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
          "word": "バーザーカー"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "70 15 15",
          "code": "no",
          "lang": "Norwegian",
          "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
          "word": "berserk"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "70 15 15",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
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            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "berserk"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "70 15 15",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "bersérker",
          "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "берсе́ркер"
        },
        {
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          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "bersérk",
          "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
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            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "берсе́рк"
        },
        {
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            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "береза́рк"
        },
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      ],
      "id": "en-berserker-en-noun-tJ1Z4TjC",
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        "(by extension)",
        "One who fights as if frenzied, like a berserker."
      ],
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      "categories": [
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          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Science fiction",
          "orig": "en:Science fiction",
          "parents": [
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      "glosses": [
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      ],
      "id": "en-berserker-en-noun-ECHmd7VK",
      "links": [
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          "science fiction"
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        [
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        [
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        [
          "mission",
          "mission#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "exterminate",
          "exterminate"
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        [
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          "alien#Adjective"
        ],
        [
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          "lifeform"
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        "(science fiction) A type of von Neumann probe whose mission is to exterminate alien lifeforms."
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  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbɜːsɜːkə/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/bəˈzɜːkə/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/bɜː-/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/-ˈsɜːkə/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
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    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbɚˌsɚkɚ/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/bɚˈzɚkɚ/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
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    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɜː(ɹ)kə(ɹ)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "berserkar"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "berserkir"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "berzerker"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "tags": [
        "common",
        "misspelling"
      ],
      "word": "beserker"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Illustrations of Northern Antiquities",
    "Swedish History Museum",
    "Torslunda plates",
    "Walter Scott"
  ],
  "word": "berserker"
}
{
  "categories": [
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    "English countable nouns",
    "English doublets",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms borrowed from Old Norse",
    "English terms derived from Old Norse",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰerH- (brown)",
    "English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ser- (bind)",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)kə(ɹ)",
    "Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)kə(ɹ)/3 syllables",
    "Terms with Czech translations",
    "Terms with Danish translations",
    "Terms with Dutch translations",
    "Terms with Faroese translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Icelandic translations",
    "Terms with Japanese translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Norwegian translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "en:Astronautics",
    "en:Interstellar travel",
    "en:People",
    "en:Violence"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "6th or 7th century",
        "short": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "c. 6th or 7th century",
      "name": "circa2"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "C.E.",
      "name": "C.E."
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "From the collection of the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm, Sweden.",
        "group": "n",
        "name": "n1"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "ref"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*bʰerH-",
        "4": "*ser-",
        "id": "brown",
        "id2": "bind"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "root"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "berserkr",
        "t": "Norse warrior who fights with frenzy"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse berserkr (“Norse warrior who fights with frenzy”)",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "|",
      "name": "!"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*bʰerH-",
        "t": "brown"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“brown”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*ser-",
        "t": "to bind, tie together; thread"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, tie together; thread”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "berserk"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of berserk",
      "name": "doublet"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "London"
      },
      "expansion": "[…]",
      "name": "nb..."
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Fred Saberhagen",
        "nat": "the American",
        "nobycat": "1",
        "nocap": "1",
        "occ": "author"
      },
      "expansion": "coined by the American author Fred Saberhagen",
      "name": "coinage"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "berserkur"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic berserkur",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "bärsärk"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish bärsärk",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.\nThe 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.\ncognates\n* Icelandic berserkur\n* Swedish bärsärk",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "berserkers",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "berserker (plural berserkers)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "ber‧serk‧er"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with historical senses"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A Norse warrior who purportedly fought in a trance-like frenzy; a berserk."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Norse",
          "Norse#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "warrior",
          "warrior"
        ],
        [
          "fought",
          "fight#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "frenzy",
          "frenzy#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "berserk",
          "berserk#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(historical) A Norse warrior who purportedly fought in a trance-like frenzy; a berserk."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "One who fights as if frenzied, like a berserker."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "fights",
          "fight#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "frenzied",
          "frenzied#Adjective"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension)",
        "One who fights as if frenzied, like a berserker."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "en:Science fiction"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A type of von Neumann probe whose mission is to exterminate alien lifeforms."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "science fiction",
          "science fiction"
        ],
        [
          "type",
          "type#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "von Neumann probe",
          "von Neumann probe"
        ],
        [
          "mission",
          "mission#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "exterminate",
          "exterminate"
        ],
        [
          "alien",
          "alien#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "lifeform",
          "lifeform"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension)",
        "(science fiction) A type of von Neumann probe whose mission is to exterminate alien lifeforms."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "literature",
        "media",
        "publishing",
        "science-fiction"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbɜːsɜːkə/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/bəˈzɜːkə/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/bɜː-/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/-ˈsɜːkə/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-berserker.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/4d/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-berserker.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-berserker.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/4d/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-berserker.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-berserker.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbɚˌsɚkɚ/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/bɚˈzɚkɚ/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɜː(ɹ)kə(ɹ)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "berserkar"
    },
    {
      "word": "berserkir"
    },
    {
      "word": "berzerker"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "common",
        "misspelling"
      ],
      "word": "beserker"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "word": "巴薩卡"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "bāsàkǎ",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "word": "巴萨卡"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "word": "狂戰士"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "kuángzhànshì",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "word": "狂战士"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "berserk"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "bersærk"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "berserker"
    },
    {
      "code": "fo",
      "lang": "Faroese",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "berserkur"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "word": "berserkki"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Berserker"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Berserk"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "berserkur"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "beruseruku",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "word": "ベルセルク"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "bāzākā",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "word": "バーザーカー"
    },
    {
      "code": "no",
      "lang": "Norwegian",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "word": "berserk"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "berserk"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "bersérker",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "берсе́ркер"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "bersérk",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "берсе́рк"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "berezárk",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "береза́рк"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "bärsärk"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Illustrations of Northern Antiquities",
    "Swedish History Museum",
    "Torslunda plates",
    "Walter Scott"
  ],
  "word": "berserker"
}

Download raw JSONL data for berserker meaning in English (8.8kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.