berserk

Meanings

Plural: berserks

Noun

one of the ancient Norse warriors legendary for working themselves into a frenzy before a battle and fighting with reckless savagery and insane fury
Synonym of berserker (“a Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy”).

Adjective Satellite

frenzied as if possessed by a demon
- "berserk with grief"
- "a berserk worker smashing windows"

Adj

Furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control.
Bizarre; weird.
Wildly joyous; ecstatic.

Verb

To be or become berserk.
To make berserk.

Origin / Etymology

The noun is borrowed from Old Norse berserkr (“Norse warrior who fights in a frenzy”), probably from bjǫrn (“bear”) + serkr (“coat; shirt”), referring to the bearskins which the warriors wore. 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”), referring to warriors who went into battle without armour, but this is now thought unlikely. Doublet of berserker.
The adjective is derived from the noun.
The verb might partly be a back-formation from berserker, analyzed as containing the suffix -er.
Cognates
* Icelandic berserkur
* Norwegian Bokmål berserk
* Norwegian Nynorsk berserk
* Swedish bärsärk

Synonyms

amok, amuck, berserk, berserker, blissed out, blithe, blithesome, bonnie, bright, buoyant, cheerful, cheerly, cheery, chuffed, cock-a-hoop, content, contented, convivial, delighted, demoniac, demoniacal, ebullient, ecstatic, elated, euphoric, excited, exhilarated, exuberant, exultant, fat and happy, gassed, gay, gayful, glad, gladsome, gleeful, gleesome, go berserk, happy, happy as a clam, happy as a clam at high water, happy as a lark, happy as a pig in mud, happy as a pig in shit, happy as a prince, happy as Larry, happy as the day is long, hearty, high on life, jovial, joyful, merry, merry as a cricket, merry as a grig, mirthsome, on cloud nine, over the moon, overjoyed, overjoyous, pacific, perky, placated, pleased, possessed, satisfied, thrilled, tickled pink, triumphant, vivacious, wealful

Scrabble Score: 13

berserk is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
berserk is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
berserk is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

berserk is a valid Words With Friends word