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 (Australia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)k
• Homophones: birk, Bourke, burk, Burke, burke

Noun

berk (plural berks)

1. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, slang, derogatory, vulgar) a fool, a prat, a twit, etc. [1930]
   • 1983, Bill Oddie, Gone Birding, London: Methuen, page 119:

     However, it appears as if the berk who built the box ran out of wood and has left the end wall off.

   • 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
• “berk n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present.

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

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

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

Related terms

• barmë

Further reading

• “berk”, in FMGJSH: Fjalor i madh i gjuhës shqipe (in Albanian), 2026

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch berke, from Old Dutch *berca, 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

• berkenbast
• berkenblad
• berkenboom
• berkenroede
• berkentak
• berkhaan
• berkhoen

Descendants

• Afrikaans: berk

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛʁk/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France):

  (file)

Interjection

berk

1. alternative form of beurk: yuck!

Old Norse

Contraction

berk

1. (bragarmál) contraction of ber +‎ ek

Turkish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbeɾc/
• Hyphenation: berk

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
ben (I am)	berkim	berk miyim?
sen (you are)	berksin	berk misin?
o (he/she/it is)	berk / berktir	berk mi?
biz (we are)	berkiz	berk miyiz?
siz (you are)	berksiniz	berk misiniz?
onlar (they are)	berk(ler)	berk(ler) mi?
past tense
	positive declarative	positive interrogative
ben (I was)	berktim	berk miydim?
sen (you were)	berktin	berk miydin?
o (he/she/it was)	berkti	berk miydi?
biz (we were)	berktik	berk miydik?
siz (you were)	berktiniz	berk miydiniz?
onlar (they were)	berktiler	berk miydiler?
indirect past
	positive declarative	positive interrogative
ben (I was)	berkmişim	berk miymişim?
sen (you were)	berkmişsin	berk miymişsin?
o (he/she/it was)	berkmiş	berk miymiş?
biz (we were)	berkmişiz	berk miymişiz?
siz (you were)	berkmişsiniz	berk miymişsiniz?
onlar (they were)	berkmişler	berk miymişler?
conditional
	positive declarative	positive interrogative
ben (if I)	berksem	berk miysem?
sen (if you)	berksen	berk miysen?
o (if he/she/it)	berkse	berk miyse?
biz (if we)	berksek	berk miysek?
siz (if you)	berkseniz	berk miyseniz?
onlar (if they)	berkseler	berk miyseler?

For negative forms, use the appropriate form of değil.

Derived terms

• berkinmek
• berkitmek
• berklik

Further reading

• “berk”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
• Ayverdi, İlhan (2010), “berk”, in Misalli Büyük Türkçe Sözlük, a reviewed and expanded single-volume edition, Istanbul: Kubbealtı Neşriyatı
• 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

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Arabic بَرْق (barq)bor.

Ottoman Turkish برق (berḳ)

Turkish berk

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

Noun

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

1. lightning

Declension

Declension of berk

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

• “berk”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
• Ayverdi, İlhan (2010), “berk”, in Misalli Büyük Türkçe Sözlük, a reviewed and expanded single-volume edition, Istanbul: Kubbealtı Neşriyatı
• 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