Muspell
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Old Norse Muspell. The ultimate origin is disputed, but one suggestion includes Latin mundus (“world”) + Proto-Germanic *spilþijaną (“to kill, ruin, murder”), thus meaning "destruction of the world."[1] More at Muspilli.
Cognates include Old Saxon mūdspelli, Old High German muspilli. More at spill.
Proper noun
Muspell
- (Norse mythology and Germanic paganism) The primordial realm of fire which existed to the south of Ginnungagap.
- 2003, Kim Farnell, Reading the Runes, A Beginner's Guide, Zambezi Publishing, →ISBN, page 21:
- At the beginning of time there was Muspell, which was the realm of Fire.
- 2005, Diana Paxson, Taking Up the Runes, Weiser Books, →ISBN, page 323:
- Certainly the encounter between the cold of Niflheim and the fires of Muspel suggests the chemical reactions that led to the evolution of the planetary surface and its atmosphere.
Synonyms
- Muspelheim, Muspellheim
Coordinate terms
References
- Heliand und Genesis, ed. Otto Behaghel, 8th ed. by Walther Mitzka, Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1965
Anagrams
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