different between berk vs berm

English

Etymology

The usage dates from the 1930s; berk is a shortened version of Berkeley Hunt, the hunt based at Berkeley Castle, in Gloucestershire. In Cockney rhyming slang, hunt is a rhyme for cunt, giving the word its original slang meaning.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /b??(?)k/
• Rhymes: -??(?)k
• Homophone: birk

Noun

berk (plural berks)

1. (Britain, slang, derogatory, sometimes endearing) A fool, prat, twit.
2. (Cockney rhyming slang, vulgar) Cunt.

Usage notes

Not perceived as excessively rude, perhaps because its origin in rhyming slang is not well known.

See also

• Belvoir (pronounced Beaver)

References

• Chambers Dictionary: Entry for berk
• Cassell's Dictionary of Slang. Jonathon Green. Pub. Cassel & Co. ?ISBN

Anagrams

• brek, kerb

Albanian

Etymology 1

From berr (cf. derk from derr).

Noun

berk m (indefinite plural berqe, definite singular berku, definite plural berqet)

1. goat

Declension

Related terms

• berr

Etymology 2

From Proto-Albanian *bardz(i)ka, from *bardza > bardhë (“white”). Similar sense development as in barmë.

Noun

berk m (indefinite plural berqe, definite singular berku, definite plural berqet)

1. (botany) sapwood, alburnum
2. (dialectal) bark

Declension

Related terms

• barmë

References

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch berke, from Old Dutch *berka, from Proto-West Germanic *berku, from Proto-Germanic *berk?, from Proto-Indo-European *b?erH?ós.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b?rk/
• Hyphenation: berk
• Rhymes: -?rk

Noun

berk m (plural berken, diminutive berkje n)

1. birch, tree of the genus Betula

   Synonym: berkenboom

Derived terms

• berkenboom
• berkenroede
• berkhaan
• berkhoen

Descendants

• Afrikaans: berk

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b??k/

Interjection

berk

1. Alternative form of beurk: yuck!

Turkish

Etymology

From Old Turkic [script needed] (bérk), from Proto-Turkic *berk (“mighty”). Related to pek.

Adjective

berk

1. strong, hard, robust, violent
2. heroic
3. firm, solid

Synonyms

• sert, kat? [1]
• sa?lam [2]

References

• Ni?anyan, Sevan (2002–) , “berk”, in Ni?anyan Sözlük
• 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”

English

Etymology

From French berme, from Middle Dutch barm (“berm”) (Modern Dutch berm), cognate with English brim.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -??(r)m

Noun

berm (plural berms)

1. A narrow ledge or shelf, as along the top or bottom of a slope.
2. A raised bank or path, especially the bank of a canal opposite the towpath.
3. A terrace formed by wave action along a beach.
4. A mound or bank of earth, used especially as a barrier or to provide insulation.
5. A ledge between the parapet and the moat in a fortification.
6. (Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania) A strip of land between a street and sidewalk.

Synonyms

• (strip of land between street and sidewalk): see list at tree lawn
• (canal bank opposite towpath): heelpath

Translations

Verb

berm (third-person singular simple present berms, present participle berming, simple past and past participle bermed)

1. To provide something with a berm

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch baerm, from Old Dutch *barm, from Proto-Germanic *barmaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b?rm/
• Hyphenation: berm
• Rhymes: -?rm

Noun

berm m (plural bermen, diminutive bermpje n)

1. berm, verge, tree lawn, roadside (strip of land next to a road, street or sidewalk)

Derived terms

• bermlamp
• bermlicht
• bermooievaarsbek
• bermprostitutie
• bermtoerisme
• bermtoerist
• bermzuring
• binnenberm
• buitenberm
• grasberm
• zandberm
• zeeberm

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English beorma.

Noun

berm

1. Alternative form of berme

Etymology 2

From Old English bearm.

Noun

berm

1. Alternative form of barm