Category Archives: words

Get the Hnakkr!

Posted on January 2, 2023 by JE

I’m rereading Snorri’s Edda and Tacitus’ Historiae in tandem, and it’s an interesting experience. With Snorri, this involves a lot of adventures in the dictionary, as the vocabulary of Old Icelandic is definitely less familiar to me than the vocabulary … Continue reading →

Posted in fantasy, Myth & Legend, sff, words | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Get the Hnakkr!

Scrabbling for Points

Posted on January 2, 2023 by JE

ME: Can I convince D that “nunbone” is a word? ALSO ME: You can’t convince me. OTHER ME WANDERING BY: I thought the other one was “me”. ALL: I AM!

Posted in Chaos, words | Comments Off on Scrabbling for Points

Coca þola

Posted on December 30, 2022 by JE

I was looking up þola in Cleasby & Vigfusson this afternoon even though I was pretty sure I knew what it meant, which is a totally normal thing to do. They said it meant “endure”, as I expected, and connected … Continue reading →

Posted in ancient art, Myth & Legend, words | Comments Off on Coca þola

Who’s Nest?

Posted on December 28, 2022 by JE

I was looking up  the Old Norse word nestbaggi (“bag for provisions”) and wondering about the etymon of nest (“provisions”). Is it the same as English nest (like, where birds live)? I still don’t know; it looks doubtful. But apparently English … Continue reading →

Posted in words | Comments Off on Who’s Nest?

Scale vs. Scale

Posted on December 21, 2022 by JE

While looking up something today, I got lost in the dictionary (an almost daily occurrence around here). I ended up finding out that scale in the sense of “a calibrated line” (etc.) isn’t related at all to scale from a … Continue reading →

Posted in words | Tagged | Comments Off on Scale vs. Scale

The Ygg and I

Posted on July 28, 2022 by JE

Today I’m thinking about Weird water and eggs. Snorri says that the first root of Yggdrasil comes down in Ásgarð and that next to it is the Pool of Weird. The Norns come out to it each day and splash … Continue reading →

Posted in art, fantasy art, language, Myth & Legend, words | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Ygg and I

Good for the Gander?

Posted on July 21, 2022 by JE

Apparently the gands that appear in Gandalf and in Jǫrmungandr (the name of the world-girdling serpent in Norse myth) are really the same root. Cleasby and Vigfusson say “the exact sense of this word is somewhat dubious; it is mostly … Continue reading →

Posted in art, books, fantasy, fantasy art, language, Myth & Legend, words | Comments Off on Good for the Gander?