berserker
English
Alternative forms
- berserkar
- beserker
Etymology
Introduced in English with the spelling berserkar by Walter Scott in his 1822 novel The Pirate from 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
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