berk

See also: Berk and bərk

English

Etymology

Cockney rhyming slang, an ellipsis and clipping of Berkeley Hunt, a prominent hunt at Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, to mean cunt.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /bɝk/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /bɜː(ɹ)k/

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)k
• Homophone: birk

Noun

berk (plural berks)

1. (UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, slang, derogatory, vulgar) a fool, a prat, a twit, etc. [1930]
   • 2003 July 12, Nicholas Lezard, “Ad execs quoting Gramsci? Only in France”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     His chat-up techniques have to be read to be imagined—they make the crudest of Loaded-style berks seem classy—and he earns far, far too much money.

   • 2006 February 3, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, season 1, episode 2:

     I don't know why they couldn't just keep it as it was! How hard is it to remember 911?
     You mean 999...
     I mean 999!
     That's the American one!
     Yeah!
     You berk.

Usage notes

Although the term remains in fairly wide use, its specific origin and meaning in rhyming slang is less well known, lessening its vulgarity.

Synonyms

• See fool and idiot

See also

• Belvoir (pronounced Beaver)

References

• "berk" in Chambers Dictionary
• "berk" in Jonathon Green's Cassell's Dictionary of Slang →ISBN
• Jonathon Green (2024) “berk n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang

Anagrams

• brek, kerb

Albanian

Etymology 1

From berr (cf. derk from derr).

Noun

berk m (plural berqe, definite berku, definite plural berqet)

1. goat

Declension

Declension of berk

	indefinite		definite
	singular	plural	singular	plural
nominative	berk	berqe	berku	berqet
accusative			berkun
dative	berku	berqeve	berkut	berqeve
ablative		berqesh

Related terms

• berr

Etymology 2

From Proto-Albanian *bardz(i)ka, from *bardza > bardhë (“white”). Similar sense development as in barmë.

Noun

berk m (plural berqe, definite berku, definite plural berqet)

1. (botany) sapwood, alburnum
2. (dialectal) bark

Declension

Declension of berk

	indefinite		definite
	singular	plural	singular	plural
nominative	berk	berqe	berku	berqet
accusative			berkun
dative	berku	berqeve	berkut	berqeve
ablative		berqesh

Related terms

• barmë

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch berke, from Old Dutch *berka, from Proto-West Germanic *berku, from Proto-Germanic *berkō, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerHǵós.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛrk/

• audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: berk
• Rhymes: -ɛrk

Noun

berk m (plural berken, diminutive berkje n)

1. birch, tree of the genus Betula

   Synonym: berkenboom

Derived terms

• berkenboom
• berkenroede
• berkhaan
• berkhoen

Descendants

• Afrikaans: berk

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛʁk/

• Audio:

  (file)

Interjection

berk

1. Alternative form of beurk: yuck!

Old Norse

Contraction

berk

1. (bragarmál) Contraction of ber ek.

Turkish

Etymology 1

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish برك (berk), from Proto-Turkic *berk (“mighty”). Related to pek.

Adjective

berk

1. strong, hard, robust, violent

   Synonyms: sert, katı

2. heroic
3. firm, solid

   Synonym: sağlam

Declension

predicative forms of berk

present tense
	positive, declarative	positive, interrogative	negative, declarative	negative, interrogative
ben (I am)	berkim	berk miyim?	berk değilim	berk değil miyim?
sen (you are)	berksin	berk misin?	berk değilsin	berk değil misin?
o (he/she/it is)	berk / berktir	berk mi?	berk değil	berk değil mi?
biz (we are)	berkiz	berk miyiz?	berk değiliz	berk değil miyiz?
siz (you are)	berksiniz	berk misiniz?	berk değilsiniz	berk değil misiniz?
onlar (they are)	berk(ler)	berk(ler) mi?	berk değil(ler)	berk değiller mi?
past tense
	positive, declarative	positive, interrogative	negative, declarative	negative, interrogative
ben (I was)	berktim	berk miydim?	berk değildim	berk değil miydim?
sen (you were)	berktin	berk miydin?	berk değildin	berk değil miydin?
o (he/she/it was)	berkti	berk miydi?	berk değildi	berk değil miydi?
biz (we were)	berktik	berk miydik?	berk değildik	berk değil miydik?
siz (you were)	berktiniz	berk miydiniz?	berk değildiniz	berk değil miydiniz?
onlar (they were)	berktiler	berk miydiler?	berk değildi(ler) / değillerdi	berk değil miydiler?
indirect past
	positive, declarative	positive, interrogative	negative, declarative	negative, interrogative
ben (I was)	berkmişim	berk miymişim?	berk değilmişim	berk değil miymişim?
sen (you were)	berkmişsin	berk miymişsin?	berk değilmişsin	berk değil miymişsin?
o (he/she/it was)	berkmiş	berk miymiş?	berk değilmiş	berk değil miymiş?
biz (we were)	berkmişiz	berk miymişiz?	berk değilmişiz	berk değil miymişiz?
siz (you were)	berkmişsiniz	berk miymişsiniz?	berk değilmişsiniz	berk değil miymişsiniz?
onlar (they were)	berkmişler	berk miymişler?	berk değilmiş(ler) / değillermiş	berk değil miymişler?
conditional
	positive, declarative	positive, interrogative	negative, declarative	negative, interrogative
ben (if I)	berksem	berk miysem?	berk değilsem	berk değil miysem?
sen (if you)	berksen	berk miysen?	berk değilsen	berk değil miysen?
o (if he/she/it)	berkse	berk miyse?	berk değilse	berk değil miyse?
biz (if we)	berksek	berk miysek?	berk değilsek	berk değil miysek?
siz (if you)	berkseniz	berk miyseniz?	berk değilseniz	berk değil miyseniz?
onlar (if they)	berkseler	berk miyseler?	berk değilseler / değillerse	berk değil miyseler?

Derived terms

• berkitmek

 

References

• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “berk1”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• Redhouse, James W. (1890) “برك”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon‎^[2], Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 356
• Starostin, Sergei, Dybo, Anna, Mudrak, Oleg (2003) Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8), Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill: “*parki”

Etymology 2

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish برق (berk), from Arabic بَرْق (barq).

Noun

berk (definite accusative berki, plural berkler) (archaic)

1. lightning

Declension

Inflection
Nominative	berk
Definite accusative	berki
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	berk	berkler
Definite accusative	berki	berkleri
Dative	berke	berklere
Locative	berkte	berklerde
Ablative	berkten	berklerden
Genitive	berkin	berklerin
Possessive forms Nominative Singular Plural 1st singular berkim berklerim 2nd singular berkin berklerin 3rd singular berki berkleri 1st plural berkimiz berklerimiz 2nd plural berkiniz berkleriniz 3rd plural berkleri berkleri Definite accusative Singular Plural 1st singular berkimi berklerimi 2nd singular berkini berklerini 3rd singular berkini berklerini 1st plural berkimizi berklerimizi 2nd plural berkinizi berklerinizi 3rd plural berklerini berklerini Dative Singular Plural 1st singular berkime berklerime 2nd singular berkine berklerine 3rd singular berkine berklerine 1st plural berkimize berklerimize 2nd plural berkinize berklerinize 3rd plural berklerine berklerine Locative Singular Plural 1st singular berkimde berklerimde 2nd singular berkinde berklerinde 3rd singular berkinde berklerinde 1st plural berkimizde berklerimizde 2nd plural berkinizde berklerinizde 3rd plural berklerinde berklerinde Ablative Singular Plural 1st singular berkimden berklerimden 2nd singular berkinden berklerinden 3rd singular berkinden berklerinden 1st plural berkimizden berklerimizden 2nd plural berkinizden berklerinizden 3rd plural berklerinden berklerinden Genitive Singular Plural 1st singular berkimin berklerimin 2nd singular berkinin berklerinin 3rd singular berkinin berklerinin 1st plural berkimizin berklerimizin 2nd plural berkinizin berklerinizin 3rd plural berklerinin berklerinin

References

• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “berk2”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• Avery, Robert et al., editors (2013), The Redhouse Dictionary Turkish/Ottoman English, 21st edition, Istanbul: Sev Yayıncılık, →ISBN