Midgårdsormen

Danish

Proper noun

Midgårdsormen

1. (Norse mythology) Jörmungandr

Swedish

The world tree Yggdrasil where Jörmungandr is seen encircling the human world Midgard.

Etymology

Compound of Midgård (“Midgard”) +‎ -s- +‎ orm (“snake”) +‎ -en (“the”). Borrowed from Icelandic miðgarðsormr, ultimately from Prose Edda (c. 1220). First attested in 1747.

Proper noun

Midgårdsormen c (genitive Midgårdsormens)

1. (Norse mythology) the Midgard Serpent; the Jörmungandr

   Synonyms: Jörmungand, världsormen

   • 1819, Snorre Sturlasson, translated by Anders Jacob Cnattingius, Snorre Sturlesons Edda. Samt Skalda‎^[1], page 62:

     Ty det var ingen sådan katt, som det syntes dig: det var egenteligen Midgårdsormen, som ligger omkring all land: knappt hade han längd, att stjert och hufvud räckte till jorden, och du lyftade den så högt upp, att det var blott kort till himlen.

     For it was not such a cat as it seemed to you: it was actually the Midgard Serpent, which lies around all the land: he was long enough that his tail and head barely fit the earth, and you lifted him up so high that he was only short to the sky.