This is Origins in Five. Five minutes, one word, a small story to start the day. Today's word is Berserk. If someone goes berserk, it means they lose control, they go into a rage, chaos, or total frenzy. But originally berserk wasn't just a description, it was a job. To understand it we have to go back over a thousand years to the world of the Vikings. In Old Norse there was a word called Berserker. It referred to elite warriors or fighters in Viking society. According to the old stories, these berserkers didn't just fight normally, they entered a kind of trance like fury before battle. We have a few different theories on why these elite warriors were called berserkers. One is it came from the word meaning bear, as in the animal bear, and cirquer meaning shirt or coat. So together it would mean bear shirt. The idea was these warriors wore bearskins into battles, taking on the strength and spirit of the animal. Another theory is that bear means bear as in BARE. And so together with the shirt or coat of cirquer, it meant bear shirt, so they fought without any armor. They were effectively naked. Either way, the image is the same. A warrior, stripped down, animalistic, unstoppable. They would howl, bite their shields, and charge into combat without fear or sense of pain. To their enemies they didn't seem human at all, they seemed possessed. Now historians have suggested a few different reasons or accounts that may shed light on why these warriors seem so inhuman. One idea was that they engage in ritualistic psychological conditioning, including believing they were channeling the power of animals like a bear or wolf. Another theory is that they had an extreme adrenaline response to the stress of combat. And finally, another theory that's been put forward is that many of these warriors use substances that alter their state of mind. But whatever the cause, their reputation was real and terrifying. Over time, as the Viking Age ended and the stories were retold, the word berserker made its way into English as berserk, and its meaning shifted. It no longer referred to a specific type of warrior, but to the state they were famous for uncontrolled, violent frenzy. So today when someone goes berserk, they're echoing the legend of warriors who fought like animals, who crossed the line between human and beast. And that's Origins and Five. One word, one story to start your day.