Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
Yggdrasill. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
Yggdrasill, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
Yggdrasill in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
Yggdrasill you have here. The definition of the word
Yggdrasill will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
Yggdrasill, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Proper noun
Yggdrasill
- Alternative spelling of Yggdrasil
Old Norse
Etymology
Yggr (“the terrifying one; Odin”) + drasill (“steed”), where “steed” is a poetic expression for gallows, referring to the story of Odin hanging himself on the tree for nine nights.
Proper noun
Yggdrasill m
- an unclear word, only occurring in the genitive in a fixed expression
Usage notes
- Unlike in most languages that have borrowed this word, in Old Norse the “world tree” itself is only referred to by the expression askr Yggdrasils (“the ash tree of Yggdrasill”).
Derived terms
Descendants
Further reading
- Winterbourne, Anthony (2004): When the Norns Have Spoken: Time and Fate in Germanic Paganism