Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
 
Help
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Nearby Entries
Edda - 5 dictionary results

Ed⋅da

  [ed-uh]
Use Edda in a Sentence
–noun
a female given name.
Also, Eda.

Ed⋅da

  [ed-uh]
–noun
either of two old Icelandic literary works, one a collection of poems on mythical and religious subjects (Elder Edda or Poetic Edda) erroneously attributed to Saemund Sigfusson (c1055–1133), the other a collection of ancient Scandinavian myths and legends, rules and theories of versification, poems, etc. (Younger Edda or Prose Edda), compiled and written in part by Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241).
Related forms:
Eddic, Ed⋅da⋅ic  [e-dey-ik] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Edda
Ed·da   (ěd'ə)   
n.  
  1. A collection of Old Norse poems, called the Elder or Poetic Edda, assembled in the early 13th century.
  2. A manual of Icelandic poetry, called the Younger or Prose Edda, written by Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241).

[Old Norse.]
Ed'dic adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Edda

Ed"da\, n.; pl. Eddas. [Icel., lit. great-grandmother (i. e., of Scandinavian poetry), so called by Bishop Brynj['u]lf Sveinsson, who brought it again to light in 1643.] The religious or mythological book of the old Scandinavian tribes of German origin, containing two collections of Sagas (legends, myths) of the old northern gods and heroes.

Note: There are two Eddas. The older, consisting of 39 poems, was reduced to writing from oral tradition in Iceland between 1050 and 1133. The younger or prose Edda, called also the Edda of Snorri, is the work of several writers, though usually ascribed to Snorri Sturleson, who was born in 1178.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source

Edda 
1771, by some identified with the name of the old woman in the O.N. poem "Rigsþul," by others derived from O.N. oðr "spirit, mind, passion, song, poetry" (cognate with O.Ir. faith "poet," L. vates "seer, soothsayer;" see wood (adj.)). It is the name given to two Icelandic books, the first a miscellany of poetry, mythology, and grammar by Snorri Sturluson (d.1241), since 1642 called the Younger or Prose Edda; and a c.1200 collection of ancient Gmc. poetry and religious tales, called the Elder or Poetic Edda.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see Edda on Thesaurus | Reference