berner

See also: Berner

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French bren (bran, excrement), with metathesis (circa 1480s), having first had the meaning of "vanner le blé" or the scatological meaning of "fouiller d'excréments" present in Rabelais' writings. For semantic development, compare terms like shit talk.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɛʁ.ne/
  • (file)

Verb

berner

  1. (transitive) to trick, to fool, to take in, to run circles around, to hoodwink
    Il s’est fait complètement berner.
    He was completely taken in.
    • 1924, Emmanuel Bove, Mes Amis:
      À présent, les deux amants devaient regarder le billet en transparence, comme une plaque photographique, pour s’assurer qu’il était bon. L’impression d’avoir été berné me rendait nerveux.
      Right now, the two lovers must have been holding the note up to the light like a photographic plate to check that it was real. The feeling that I had been tricked was making me nervous.

Conjugation

Further reading

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