# berk
## 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: /bɝk/
* (UK) IPA: /bɜː(ɹ)k/
* Audio (General Australian):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)k
* Homophone: birk

### Noun

berk (plural berks)
* (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, 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, →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)
* goat

##### 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)
* (botany) sapwood, alburnum
* (dialectal) bark

##### Related terms

* barmë

### References

* ↑ Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “berk”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 21

## 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: /bɛrk/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: berk
* Rhymes: -ɛrk

### Noun

berk m (plural berken, diminutive berkje n)
* birch, tree of the genus Betula
    Synonym: berkenboom

#### Derived terms

* berkenbast
* berkenblad
* berkenboom
* berkenroede
* berkentak
* berkhaan
* berkhoen

#### Descendants

* Afrikaans: berk

## French
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bɛʁk/
* Audio:(file)

### Interjection

berk
* Alternative form of beurk: yuck!

## Old Norse
### Contraction

berk
* (bragarmál) Contraction of ber ek.

## Turkish
### Etymology 1

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

#### Adjective

berk
* strong, hard, robust, violent
    Synonyms: sert, katı
* heroic
* firm, solid
    Synonym: sağlam

##### Derived terms

* berkitmek

#### References

* 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

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

#### Noun

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

##### Declension

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