berken

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛrkən

Noun

berken

1. plural of berk

Middle English

FWOTD – 1 April 2022

Alternative forms

• barke, barken, beerke, beorken, berke, berkyn, borken

Etymology

From Old English beorcan, from Proto-West Germanic *berkan (“to bark”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛrkən/, (late) /ˈbarkən/

Verb

berken (third-person singular simple present berketh, present participle berkynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative bark, past participle borken)

1. To bark (make a sound characteristic of a dog)
2. To grumble or whine; to utter complaints or insults.

Conjugation

Conjugation of berken (strong class 3 or weak in -ed)

infinitive	(to) berken, berke
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	berke	bark, berked
2nd-person singular	berkest	borke, bark, berkedest
3rd-person singular	berketh	bark, berked
subjunctive singular	berke	borke1, berked1
imperative singular		—
plural2	berken, berke	borken, borke, berkeden, berkede
imperative plural	berketh, berke	—
participles	berkynge, berkende	borken, borke, berked

¹Replaced by the indicative in later Middle English.
²Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Derived terms

• berkere
• berkyng

Descendants

• English: bark
• Scots: berk, bark

References

• “berken, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-09.