Ginnungagap

Old Norse

Etymology

Genitive plural of ginnungr of uncertain origin and meaning + gap (“gap, empty space”). According to some sources, the former term is related to Proto-Germanic *ginnaną, from which *biginnaną (“to begin”) descended, thus meaning "primeval", while other sources compare the term with the prefix ginn- (for instance in ginnheilagr (“most holy”), used of the supreme gods), therefore giving the meaning "mighty, vast". Deconstructed, such could be Old Norse gín (“gap, gape”) or gína (“to gape; to be astonished”) + -ung (“forms verbal nouns from verbs; -ation; -ing”), thus maybe ”gaping gap”, or some figurative sense, like ”astonishing gap”.

Proper noun

Ginnungagap n (genitive Ginnungagaps)

  1. (Norse mythology) Ginnungagap, primordial chaos
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