berserkr
Old Norse
Etymology
From bjǫrn (“bear”) and serkr (“shirt, coat”) thus literally "a warrior clothed in bearskin." Not from berr (“bare, naked”).
Noun
berserkr m (genitive berserks, plural berserkir)
- a Scandinavian warrior
- a raging warrior of superhuman strength
- a wild Norse warrior who fights with frenzy
Declension
Declension of berserkr (strong i-stem, s-genitive)
| masculine | singular | plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
| nominative | berserkr | berserkrinn | berserkir | berserkirnir |
| accusative | berserk | berserkinn | berserki | berserkina |
| dative | berserk | berserkinum | berserkum | berserkunum |
| genitive | berserks | berserksins | berserka | berserkanna |
Descendants
- Icelandic: berserkur
- Faroese: berserkur
- Finnish: berserkki
- Old Swedish:
- Swedish: bärsärk
- → English: berserk
- → Scots: berserk
References
- berserkr in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press