Etymology 1

• Possibly derived from , which is an intentional misspelling of the word (e.g. The computer is borken). The word is often used in ironic or humorous contexts.
• Possibly derived from a word used repeatedly by the Swedish Chef of the Muppets. In various skits, the Chef often repeats the phrase bork, bork, bork. The word may refer to the often-failed experiments in the Chef's cooking adventures.

Verb

1. To misconfigure, especially a computer or other complex device.
2. To break or damage.

Etymology 2

From the 1987 United States Supreme Court nomination of Robert Bork.

Verb

1. To defeat a judicial nomination through a concerted attack on the nominee's character, background and philosophy.
   • 2002, Orrin G. Hatch, Capital Hill Hearing Testimony the before United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, February 7, 2002,

     After an eight-year hiatus, these groups are back on the scene, ready to implement an apparent vicious strategy of Borking any judicial nominee who happens to disagree with their view of how the world should be.

   • 2004, Mark Tushnet, A Court Divided, p340

     Forcing their adversaries to bork nominees may, they may think, lead voters in the middle to think less well of liberals, enhancing the distaste for Washington politics that has helped conservatives gain political power.

   • 2006, Jeffrey Lord, Borking Rush, in American Spectator, October 30, 2006

     Above all it discusses the best tactics to defeat a borking. Having been in the Reagan White House when Robert Bork was borked, I knew something about the subject, which was a huge help when the same borking guns were turned on my friend Judge Smith years later.

Usage notes

Probably the first use of "Bork" was by the National Lampoon Radio Hour in 1973 to describe the firing of Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox by Solicitor General Robert Bork. The meaning, with Bork as the Borker, was subsequently undermined by conservatives using the term as described in the following paragraphs, depicting Bork as an object of Borking.