Shortened from Bergen rucksack, possibly named after their creator, Norwegian Ole F. Bergan, combined with the name of the Norwegian city of Bergen.

bergen (plural bergens)

1. (UK, military) A large rucksack.
   • 2012, Peter Ratcliffe, Eye of the Storm:

     Their bergens were already stuffed almost to bursting point, as were their belt kits, with rations, water, radios and spare batteries, ammunition, personal equipment, sleeping bags, waterproofs, medical packs, survival kits, and much more.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛrɣə(n)/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ber‧gen
• Rhymes: -ɛrɣən
• Homophone: Bergen

From Middle Dutch bergen, from Old Dutch bergan, from Proto-West Germanic *bergan, from Proto-Germanic *berganą.

bergen

1. (transitive) to store, to stash away
2. (transitive) to salvage (a vessel)

• Afrikaans: berg

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

bergen

1. plural of berg

• brenge

From Middle High German bergen, from Old High German bergan, from Proto-West Germanic *bergan, from Proto-Germanic *berganą.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛɐ̯ɡŋ̩/, /ˈbɛɐ̯ɡən̪/

• Audio:

  (file)

bergen (class 3 strong, third-person singular present birgt, past tense barg, past participle geborgen, past subjunctive bärge, auxiliary haben)

1. (transitive) to save (someone); to rescue
2. (transitive) to salvage; to recover
3. (transitive) to conceal; shelter; to contain
4. (transitive, naval) to take in (a sail); to shorten (a sail)

   die Segel bergen ― to shorten the sail

• geborgen (adjective)

• Bergegut, Berglohn, Bergung

• “bergen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “bergen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “bergen” in Duden online
• “bergen” in OpenThesaurus.de

From Old Dutch bergan.

bergen

1. to get to safety, to keep safe
2. to stash away, to hide
3. to store, to keep

• berginge
• gebergen
• misbergen
• ontbergen
• verbergen

• Dutch: bergen
  • Afrikaans: berg
• Limburgish: bèrge

• “berghen (III)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “bergen (II)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page II

bergen

1. alternative form of berwen

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛrjɛn/

bergen

1. definite plural of berg

bergen

1. plural of berch