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shieldmaiden. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
shieldmaiden, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
shieldmaiden in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
shieldmaiden you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
From shield + maiden. Calque from Old Norse skjaldmær (“shieldmaiden”).
Noun
shieldmaiden (plural shieldmaidens)
- (Norse mythology) A female virgin who had chosen to fight as a warrior in battle.
1845 , Erik Gustaf Geijer, translated by J. H. Turner, The History of the Swedes, London: Whittaker and Co., Ave Maria Lane, translation of Svenska folkets historia (in Swedish), page 33:The shield-maiden (skölde-mö) was dedicated to Odin, and forbidden to wed; her love brought calamity.
1849, John Mitchell Kemble, The Saxons in England:The Anglosaxon belief in the Shieldmaidens comes to us indeed in a darkened form, yet we can hardly doubt that it survived.
1890, Paul Belloni Du Chaillu, The Viking Age: The Early History, Manners, and Customs of the Ancestors of the English-speaking Nations, volume 2:Störkud rushed through the ranks with a drawn sword and killed one after another; he cut down Hjört; whereupon Visma, shieldmaiden, who carried the standard of Harald, met him.
1955, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Return of the King, →ISBN, page 262:There goes a lord who tamed a wild shieldmaiden of the North!
Synonyms
Translations
Norse female virgin who had chosen to fight in battle
See also