berserker
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Introduced in English with the spelling berserkar by Walter Scott in his 1822 novel The Pirate from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old Norse berserkr. The science fiction sense was coined by Fred Saberhagen in 1963 in his Berserker series.
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)kə(ɹ)
Noun
berserker (plural berserkers)
- A berserk (a crazed Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy).
- One who fights as if frenzied, like a berserker.
- (science fiction) A type of von Neumann probe whose mission is to exterminate alien lifeforms.
Translations
Norse warrior — see berserk