berserker

/ˈbɜːsɜːkə/

//ˈbɜːsɜːkə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"berserker" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“berserker” is uncommon English (frequency #58,547 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#58,547
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A Norse warrior who purportedly fought in a trance-like frenzy; a berserk.

Corpus desk

Index EN-berserker · berserker · English

berserker · rank #58,547 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #58,547
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Bernoulli

Nearest frequency peer: Bernoulli (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “berserker”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “berserker” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for berserker
PropertyValue
Headwordberserker
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɜːsɜːkə/
Letters9
Frequency rank#58,547
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “berserker” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).berserkerfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Bernoulli” (#58,546), “Bernabeu” (#58,545), “binging” (#58,549). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “berserker” is #58,547. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

berserker is uncommon English at frequency #58,547 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbɜːsɜːkə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for berserker in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Old Norse berserkr (“Norse warrior who fights with frenzy”), probably from bjǫrn (“bear”) + serkr (“coat; shirt”), referring to the bearskins worn by the warriors. Bjǫrn is possibly ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“brown”)… The correct English form is berserker, spelled B-E-R-S-E-R-K-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A Norse warrior who purportedly fought in a trance-like frenzy; a berserk.
  2. 2
    One who fights as if frenzied, like a berserker.
  3. 3
    A type of von Neumann probe whose mission is to exterminate alien lifeforms.

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Norse berserkr (“Norse warrior who fights with frenzy”), probably from bjǫrn (“bear”) + serkr (“coat; shirt”), referring to the bearskins worn by the warriors. Bjǫrn is possibly ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“brown”); and serkr from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, tie together; thread”). Alternatively, it has been suggested that the first element of the word is from berr (“bare, naked”), suggesting warriors who went into battle without armour, but this is now thought unlikely. Doublet of berserk. The word was introduced in English by the Scottish author and historian Walter Scott (1771–1832) in Illustrations of Northern Antiquities (1814) (spelled berserkir), and in his novel The Pirate (1822) (spelled berserkar). The sense “type of von Neumann probe whose mission is to exterminate alien lifeforms” was coined by the American author Fred Saberhagen (1930–2007) in 1963 in his Berserker series of novels and short stories. Cognates * Icelandic berserkur * Swedish bärsärk

This word in other languages

berserk(Français)Berserker(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "berserker"?
"berserker" is spelled B-E-R-S-E-R-K-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɜːsɜːkə/.
What does "berserker" mean?
As a noun, "berserker" means: A Norse warrior who purportedly fought in a trance-like frenzy; a berserk.
How do you pronounce "berserker"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "berserker" is /ˈbɜːsɜːkə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "berserker"?
Borrowed from Old Norse berserkr (“Norse warrior who fights with frenzy”), probably from bjǫrn (“bear”) + serkr (“coat; shirt”), referring to the bearskins worn by the warriors. Bjǫrn is possibly ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH-... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "berserker", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Bernoulli#58,546Ballinger#58,533buccaneer#58,566awestruck#58,524

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list