berken

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛrkən

Noun

berken

  1. plural of berk

Middle English

FWOTD – 1 April 2022

Alternative forms

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 borke1, berkedest
3rd-person singular berketh bark, berked
subjunctive singular berke borke2, berked2
imperative singular
plural3 berken, berke borken, borke, berkeden, berkede
imperative plural berketh, berke
participles berkynge, berkende borken, borke, berked

1 Later replaced by the 1st-/3rd-person singular or barkest.
2 Later replaced by the indicative.
3 Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Derived terms

Descendants

  • English: bark
  • Scots: berk, bark

References