valkyrie

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun (Norse mythology) one of the maidens of Odin who chose heroes to be slain in battle and conducted them to Valhalla

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Norse valkyrja sg (“chooser of the slain”), plural valkyrjur pl, from Proto-Germanic *walakuzjǭ. Cognate to Old English wælcyrġe. First attested in English as a proper noun (Valkyries) in the 1770s; attested as a common noun (valkyries) since the 1880s.

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