Jotunheim

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A realm in Norse mythology inhabited by the giants known as Jotnar, contrasting with the home of the gods
2. A land of powerful beings in ancient Scandinavian tales, often depicted as a world of ice and rock
3. The mythical home of frost giants in the lore of the Norse, representing a chaotic counterpart to the divine realm

Etymology: Jötunheimr is the realm of the jötnar, the giants of Norse myth, and its name is built from two plain parts: "jötunn" (giant) and "heimr" (home, world), so the whole thing means "giant-home" or "world of the giants." The giants were not simply monsters in the old sources. They were the powers that existed before the gods, and the gods' own creation was made partly from the body of Ymir, a giant. The gods and giants were rivals who regularly clashed, and Thor's journeys to Jötunheimr to fight them are among the best-known stories in the Eddas. Old Norse "jötunn" is generally thought to be an older word for an enormous, powerful being, and it appears in Old English as "eoten" and in modern English only in the form "Jotun," mainly in fantasy and Norse-inspired writing. The word "heimr" is related to English "home," and the same ending appears in place names such as Midgard, the world of humans, and Asgard, the home of the Æsir.