berk
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Cockney rhyming slang, an ellipsis and clipping of Berkeley Hunt, a prominent hunt at Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, to mean cunt, q.v.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (General American) IPA(key): /bɝk/
- (UK) IPA(key): /bɜː(ɹ)k/
Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)k
- Homophone: birk
Noun[edit]
berk (plural berks)
- (UK, slang, derogatory, possibly vulgar) Synonym of cunt in its various senses, (now especially somewhat endearing) a fool, a prat, a twit, etc. [1930]
- 2006 Feb. 3, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 1, Episode 2:
Synonyms[edit]
- See cunt and Thesaurus:fool and idiot
Usage notes[edit]
Although the term remains in fairly wide use, its specific origin and meaning in rhyming slang is less well known, lessening its vulgarity. In particular, berk is almost never parsed as gendered in the way cunt often is.
See also[edit]
- Belvoir (pronounced Beaver)
References[edit]
- "berk" in Chambers Dictionary
- "berk" in Jonathon Green's Cassell's Dictionary of Slang →ISBN
Anagrams[edit]
Albanian[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From berr (cf. derk from derr).
Noun[edit]
berk m (indefinite plural berqe, definite singular berku, definite plural berqet)
Declension[edit]
indefinite forms (trajta të pashquara) |
definite forms (trajta të shquara) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
singular (numri njëjës) |
plural (numri shumës) |
singular (numri njëjës) |
plural (numri shumës) | ||
nominative (emërore) |
berk | berqe | berku | berqet | |
accusative (kallëzore) |
berk | berqe | berkun | berqet | |
genitive (gjinore) (i/e/të/së) |
berku | berqeve | berkut | berqevet | |
dative (dhanore) |
berku | berqeve | berkut | berqevet | |
ablative (rrjedhore) |
berku | berqesh | berkut | berqevet |
Related terms[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
From Proto-Albanian *bardz(i)ka, from *bardza > bardhë (“white”). Similar sense development as in barmë.[1]
Noun[edit]
berk m (indefinite plural berqe, definite singular berku, definite plural berqet)
Declension[edit]
indefinite forms (trajta të pashquara) |
definite forms (trajta të shquara) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
singular (numri njëjës) |
plural (numri shumës) |
singular (numri njëjës) |
plural (numri shumës) | ||
nominative (emërore) |
berk | berqe | berku | berqet | |
accusative (kallëzore) |
berk | berqe | berkun | berqet | |
genitive (gjinore) (i/e/të/së) |
berku | berqeve | berkut | berqevet | |
dative (dhanore) |
berku | berqeve | berkut | berqevet | |
ablative (rrjedhore) |
berku | berqesh | berkut | berqevet |
Related terms[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Orel, Vladimir (1998), “berk”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Cologne: Brill, →ISBN, page 21
Dutch[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle Dutch berke, from Old Dutch *berka, from Proto-West Germanic *berku, from Proto-Germanic *berkō, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerHǵós.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
berk m (plural berken, diminutive berkje n)
- birch, tree of the genus Betula
- Synonym: berkenboom
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
- Afrikaans: berk
French[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Interjection[edit]
berk
Turkish[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Ottoman Turkish برك (berk), from Proto-Turkic *berk (“mighty”). Related to pek.
Adjective[edit]
berk
References[edit]
- Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–), “berk1”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
- Redhouse, James W. (1890), “برك”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon, 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[edit]
From Ottoman Turkish برق (berk), from Arabic بَرْق (barq).
Noun[edit]
berk (definite accusative berki, plural berkler) (archaic)
References[edit]
- Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–), “berk2”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
- The Redhouse Dictionary Turkish/Ottoman English, 21st edition, 2013, →ISBN
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)k
- Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)k/1 syllable
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- British English
- English slang
- English derogatory terms
- English vulgarities
- English endearing terms
- Cockney rhyming slang
- English ellipses
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- Albanian lemmas
- Albanian nouns
- Albanian masculine nouns
- Albanian terms inherited from Proto-Albanian
- Albanian terms derived from Proto-Albanian
- sq:Botany
- Albanian dialectal terms
- Dutch terms inherited from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Dutch terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Dutch terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Dutch terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Dutch terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Dutch terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɛrk
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɛrk/1 syllable
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch masculine nouns
- nl:Trees
- French 1-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
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- Turkish terms inherited from Ottoman Turkish
- Turkish terms derived from Ottoman Turkish
- Turkish terms inherited from Proto-Turkic
- Turkish terms derived from Proto-Turkic
- Turkish lemmas
- Turkish adjectives
- Turkish terms derived from Arabic
- Turkish nouns
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