An Etymologist's look at Norse Mythology.

Continuing on after my recent course on ancient languages, I thought it would be interesting to examine a selection of Norse mythological figures and examine the etymologies for their names.

Asgard, the Norse equivalent of heaven, is a compound of ass 'god' and gardr enclosure - and makes perfect sense.

Midgard to the Norsemen, or to us 'Earth'. It shares the second element with Asgard, but instead of ass (stop tittering people) we have mid 'middle'.

Valhalla is the anglicised version of the Norse Valholl 'hall of the slain'. An appropriate name for the place where the souls of dead warriors went.

Baldr is from Old Norse baldr meaning 'brave, defiant', an appropriate description of Odin's son and Thor's brother.

Freyr simply means 'lord', which may sound simplistic but this busy deity has associations with fertility, peace, prosperity, virility, sunshine, good weather, and good harvests.

Loki, the Norse god who is always playing tricks and pranks on others, is sometimes said to derive his name from logi, the Old Norse for 'flame'. But that hardly fits with the character, and others have suggested luk might be more suitable, for it is used for things with loops (knots, hooks, locks, locked places).

Odin is the most widely revered god in Germanic paganism, as Woden he gave his name to Wednesday. He takes his name ultimately from Proto-Germanic wodanaz which has various interpretations byt is best given as 'lord of the frenzy'.

Thor is the hammer-wielding film star we know so well, he getting his name from thunaraz, the Proto-Germanic for 'thunderer'.

Tyr, sometimes given as Tiw, sacrificed his one hand to the wolf Fenrir, so perhaps he merits a name meaning 'the god'.

Ullr gets his name from Proto-Germanic wulthuz 'glory'. This is good for in days of yore it brings us images of great warriors winning even greater battles - today 'glorious' would be used to describe the runner-up's creation in Bake-Off.

Beyla is a female deity, but it isn't clear if her name means 'cow', 'bean', or 'bee'. Whilst confusing, ensuing discussions will still be more interesting than an episode of Bake-Off.

Freyja is quite simply Old Norse for 'lady, mistress'.

Frigg is from the Old Norse frijjo which may mean 'beloved' or 'free' depending upon the context.

Nanna os associated with the god Baldr, she may have a name meaning 'mother', alternatively 'she who empowers', or possibly 'the daring one', or even just 'woman'.

Sigyn simply means 'friend of victory', she appears in the Prose Edda where she assists her husband Loki during his time spent in bondage.

Snotra may not be the ebst-known of Norse goddesses, but she certainly has the best name - no, not for that reason, but because her name means 'clever'. While she is associated with wisdom, although I couldn't really see what she was held to have done to earn this accolade.

Homonyms, Etymologically Speaking: B

Many words have two meanings, sometimes more, which are often very different. Such words have identical spelling and pronunciation, they are known as homonyms. Here I continue an A to Z list of such words and look at how that word came to have two different meanings.

B is for band and also for bat. Taking 'band' first, clearly the earliest usage would have been as in the sense 'a flat strip, that which binds'. This word is seen in Old English bend, Old Scandinavian band, and Old French bande, and all with identical meanings. Clearly this monosyllabic word has been around a long time, and we can trace it back to the root word bhendh, meaning 'to bind' in Proto-Indo-European.

The second use of 'band' is as in the sense 'an organised group', particularly used when speaking of an armed group of men. It is not difficult to see how the 'binding' of a flat strip has been transferred to the 'binding together' of a group of individuals. This is also why a group of musicians are known as a 'band', and has been since at least 1660.

An examination of 'bat' looks at both the flying mammal and that used to hit a ball (or similar) in sporting contests. Taking the latter first, Old English batt was used to refer to a cudgel, and was a loan word from Irish bat and Gaelic bata, both having identical meanings. These come from the Proto-Indo-European bhat 'to strike'. Note the Middle English use referred to a 'lump, piece, chunk', the term surviving in terms such as 'brickbat'.

When it comes to the mammal, the creature was known in Middle English as bakke, this related to Old Swedish natbakka 'night bat', and Old Norse ledrblaka which might be used to mean 'bat' but literally translates as 'leather flapper'. This is also seen in the Proto-Indo-European bhlag 'to strike', this also the origin of words such as 'flagellate'. Old English hreremus was also used to refer to a bat, this from hreran 'to shake'.

Synonym Etymologies J

Continuing the look at synonyms through the eyes of the etymologist, this time it is the letter J and jump. The etymology of 'jump' is difficult to see, although it seems most often to be said to be related to a Gallo-Roman dialect word jumba 'to rock' or yumpa with the same meaning. This is largely based on the assumption the word was brought back to England following the Hundred Years War. Swedish gumpa 'to spring' and German gampen 'to hop' have been shown to be unrelated. Interesting to note that 'jump' as a euphemism for sexual intercourse dates from as early as 1630.

Leap is a very Germanic word and can be traced, and through nearly all Germanic languages, to the Proto-Germanic hlaupan. It is easy to see how other Germanic tongues have used this root to refer to 'running', Dutch lopen, Old Norse hlaupa, Old Frisian hlapa, Old Saxon hlopan being just a few examples. This is clearly the origin of the English word 'lope', a running gait with long strides. Note that 'leap' has been connected to 'bound' since at least 1720 and a fact which leads nicely on to the next word.

Bound came to English from Old French bondir, which was originally used to mean 'rebound' but more in the sense of 'echo' or even simply making a noise like the blare of a trumpet. Note that 'bomb' is from a similar root.

Hop is another of Germanic roots, words in Old Norse, Dutch, German, and Old English all ultimately from Proto-Germanic hupnojan with the same meaning. Note we were never 'hopping mad' before 1838, and research also revealed a stew of bacon, rice and peas known as Hopping-John from 1838.

Spring is also from a Proto-Germanic root, where sprengan has the same meaning. In fact all Germanic languages use 'spring' to refer to leaping upwards, and is the reason why the early growing season is known by the same word.

Bounce has been used in the modern sense since 1510, but also existed prior to that to mean 'thump, hit', which is almost what a ball does when it bounces.

Prance originated as a word describing horses in high mettle, and only used to refer to a strutting or bouncing gait from the late 18th century.

Iceland Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest Icelandic places.

Reykjavik is the Icelandic for 'smoke cove' and refers to the steam from hot springs synonymous with the island.

Kopavogur translates as 'seal pup inlet' and a seal pup can be found on the town's coat of arms.

Hafnarfjordur means simply 'harbour fjord'.

Keflavik describes itself as 'driftwood bay'.

Selfoss is an oddity as the suffix is Iceland for 'waterfall' and yet there are no waterfalls to be found here today.

Isafjord can still be seen as 'ice fjord'.

Saudarkrokur takes its name from the small river running through here, this the Sauda. The name refers to where it hits the coast and means 'hook of the sheep river'.

Egilsstadir has hardly changed since it was first known as Egilsstadir's farmstead'.

Husavik is held to be the first place ever settled in Iceland, this by Gardar Svavarsson around 870. When he left, Gardar's farmstead consisted of a man named Nattfari and a male and female slave. As the only signs of human habitation on the island, it is easy to see why the name meant 'bay of houses'.

Hofn is an Icelandic word meaning simply 'harbour'.

Thorlakshofn is named after Saint Thorlak who was bishop here and thus the name means 'Thorlak's harbour'.

Gardur refers to this as 'garden'.

Neskaupstadur refers to itself as 'the headland (or ness) of Egill the red'..

Dalvik can be translated to 'valley bay'.

Stykkisholmur takes its name from the small island at the mouth of the harbour describing 'the piece of dry land'.

Hvolsvollur translates as 'hill field'.

Hella comes from the caves near the river, where Irish monks lived in the first settlement.

Patreksfjordur is further evidence of Irish influence for it means 'Patrick's fjord'.

Vopnafjordur translates as 'weapon bay', itself named from a nickname of one of the early settlers, Eyvindur vopni.

Note the majority of Icelandic names were coined to be recognisable from the sea, not the land. Just as the names of Greenland were in my earlier post.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Norse Gods

In my work on English place name, particularly in the north of the country, I often find names referring to Norse gods and thought it might prove interesting, especially with the new Thor film due out later this year, to see how and why they were named.

Should start with the home of the heavenly hall in which Odin receives the souls of those slain in battle. The name is from Old Norse valr 'those slain in battle' and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wele 'to strike, wound'. This root has also given us Latin veles 'ghosts of the dead', Old Irish fuil 'blood', and Welsh gwel 'wound'.

Aegir - the Norse sea god has a name meaning 'sea' and related to Old English ieg 'island', Gothic ahua 'river, waters', Proto-Germanic akhwo 'river', Latin aqua 'water', and Proto-Indo-European akwa 'water'.

Balder - his name is related to Old English bealdor, baldor 'lord, prince, king'. This honorific likely comes from a Proto-Germanic term related to balpaz, Old English bald, and Old High German pald, all meaning 'bold, brave'.

Bragi - got his name from Old Norse bragr 'poetry'.

Buri - the first god of Norse mythology, has a name where the origin is unknown but (as always) has several suggestions. Some hold this to be from Old Norse burr meaning 'son' which, as he is the first Norse god, hardly fits. However his status as the founder of the gods does add weight to the idea this came from buri 'producer'. He came into being when the cow Authumbla released him from a salty block of ice by licking it - which is probably my favourite creation myth.

Eir - a goddess associated with medical knowledge has a name from Old Norse meaning 'help, mercy'.

Frey - a name derived from Proto-Norse frawjaz 'lord' given to a god associated with kingship, virility, prosperity, sunshine, and fair weather.

Freyja - a goddess associated with love, sex, beauty, fertility, gold, war and death has a name from Old Norse freyja meaning 'the lady'.

Frigg - a goddess who gave her name to Friday seems to come from the same root as Freyja (above) and thus simply means 'the lady'.

Hel - a female figure associated with the place of the same name, both likely coming from Proto-Germanic xaljo or haljo meaning 'concealed place' or 'the underworld'. Hel had a horse named Sleipnir meaning 'the slipper'.

Hermothr - is Old Norse for 'war spirit', he often spoken of as the messenger of the gods.

Hlin - a goddess whose name means 'protectress' and thought to simply be an alternative name for Frigg.

Loki - this god's name has never really been understood but may be related to Old Norse luka meaning 'close, shut', which would fit with Loki's role in the Battle of Ragnarok.

Nanna - Balder's wife and another whose name has uncertain origins. This may be nanth 'the daring one' or, and this seems less likely, typical baby-babbly meaning 'mother'.

Od - sometimes given as Odr, is Old Norse for 'mind, soul' and related to Proto-Germanic words meaning 'madness, furious, vehement, eager'.

Odin - has exactly the same origins as Od or Odr (see above).

Ran - a Norse goddess associated with the sea whose name means 'runner'.

Sif - a goddess associated with the earth, her name is a plural form of Msifjar and understood as 'in-law-relative'.

Sigyn - is the goddess wife of Loki whose name means 'victorious girlfriend'.

Thor - the hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, protection of mankind, and fertility has a name associated with the Germanic thunraz 'thunder'.

Tyr - a god whose name means literally 'god'.

Vidar - a Norse god whose name means 'wide ruler'.

Wotan - has exactly the same origin as Odin (see above).