Jörmungandr

English

Thor in Hymir's boat battling the Midgard Serpent (Der Kampf des Thor mit der Schlange des Midgard) by Henry Fuseli, 1788

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Norse Jǫrmungandr.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈjɔɹmuŋɡandɹ/

Proper noun

Jörmungandr

  1. (Norse mythology) The World Serpent or Midgard Serpent, an offspring of Loki, which is thrown into the ocean by Odin but grows to encircle the world, and is finally slain during Ragnarok by Thor, who then succumbs to its poisonous breath.
    • 2006, Stephen Krensky, Dragons‎, page 28:
      The dragon Jörmungandr, for instance, was said to encircle the entire world of Midgard (where people live). To complete the circle, he bit his own tail.
    • 2006, Ruth Binney, Nature's Ways: Lore, Legend, Fact and Fiction‎, page 234:
      The ultimate symbol of evil, the Midgard Serpent or Jörmungandr, was the offspring of the trickster Loki and the sorceress Angur-boda, who also gave birth to Hel (the queen of the dead) and the Fenris Wolf (see page 239).
    • 2010, Valerie Estelle Frankel, From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine's Journey through Myth and Legend‎, page 70:
      Thus the Aegypto-Greek Ourobouros or Norse Jörmungandr (Midgard serpent) surrounds the cosmos, biting its own tail in a symbol of perpetuity and infinity, never ending, always regenerating.

Synonyms

  • (mythological serpent): Miðgarðsormr, Midgardsormr, Midgard Serpent, World Serpent,

Translations

See also

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