Mjötuðr

Old Norse Dictionary - mjötuðr

Meaning of Old Norse word "mjötuðr" (or mjǫtuðr) in English.

As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:

mjötuðr Old Norse word can mean:

mjötuðr (mjǫtuðr): m., spelt mjotviðr, Vsp. 2, which form can only be an error of the transcriber, for both passages, verses 2 and 47, represent the same word; [A. S. metoð; Hel. metod; by which word the A. S. homilies, as well as the Heliand, denote God, prop. the ‘Meter,’ Dispenser]; the word itself is of heathen origin: in the Icel. it only occurs in old poets, and there in but a few passages, all of which agree, if rightly interpreted, with the A. S. use of the word. It occurs twice in the Vsp.; in verse 47,—Leika Míms synir, en mjötuðr kyndisk, but the meotud is kindled, lighted, where it seems to be applied to the god Heimdal, (the dawn in the Eastern sky, the morning star? see Prof. Bergmann in his Ed. of Gm. 1871, p. 169); in verse 2,—níu man ek heima, níu íviðjur, mjötuð mæran fyrir mold neðan, I mind the nine abodes, the nine giantesses (the nine mothers of Heimdal?), the worthy Dispenser beneath earth; this ‘meotud beneath earth’ seems here to represent the god of the nether world, the Pluto of the Northern mythology, with whom all things above originated (Heimdal?); somewhat similar views are expressed in the Platonic Dialogue Axiochus, ch. 12 and 13.

mjötuðr (mjǫtuðr): 2. sá er hann með mönnum mjötuðr, such a guardian (helper) is he among men, Fsm.

mjötuðr (mjǫtuðr): II. metaph. and in an evil sense, weird, bane; mjtuðr is glossed by bani (a bane), Edda (Gl.) ii. 494; mjötuðr Heimdals, the bane of Heimdal = the head; Heimdalar höfuð heitir sverð … sverð heitir manns-mjötuðr, a sword is the bane of men, Edda 55, from a myth that Heimdal was pierced by a head (used as a bolt): nema mjötuðr spilti, unless death spoiled her, unless she died, Og. 14; ef mér meirr m. málrúm gæfi, if death would give me more time for speech (says the dying Brynhild), Skv. 3. 71; sá manns mjötuðr, this bane of men, of a charmed, poisoned sword, FaS. i. (in a verse). The word is found only in the above passages; the explanation given in Lex. Poët. can hardly be the true one. For Hm. 60 see mjöt above.

Orthography: The Cleasby & Vigfusson book used letter ö to represent the original Old Norse vowel ǫ. Therefore, mjötuðr may be more accurately written as mjǫtuðr.

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᛘᛁᚢᛏᚢᚦᚱ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements

Abbreviations used:

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

ch.: chapter.

f.: feminine.

Hel.: Heliand.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

l.: line.

m.: masculine.

prop.: proper, properly.

S.: Saga.

metaph.: metaphorical, metaphorically.

v.: vide.

Works & Authors cited:

Gm.: Grímnis-mál. (A. I.)

Vsp.: Völuspá. (A. I.)

Fsm.: Fjölsvinns-mál. (A. II.)

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Hm.: Hává-mál. (A. I.)

Lex. Poët.: Lexicon Poëticum by Sveinbjörn Egilsson, 1860.

Og.: Oddrúnar-grátr. (A. II.)

Skv.: Sigurðar-kviða. (A. II.)

➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

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This headword also appears in dictionaries of other languages descending from Old Norse.