Etymograph

English

Muspell

Muspell comes from Old Norse Muspell.

  1. Old Norsec. 800–1350Muspelldisputed
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2003same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Old Norsec. 800–1350Muspelldisputed
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2003same form

Earliest quotation: 2003, Kim Farnell, Reading the Runes: “At the beginning of time there was Muspell, which…”

The story

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."

Every English word from Old Norse Muspell

Today it means

name The primordial realm of fire which existed to the south of Ginnungagap.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Old Norse Muspell / Muspell

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