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Origin and history of Odin

Odin

chief Teutonic god, the All-Father, a 19c. revival in reference to Scandinavian neo-paganism, from Danish, from Old Norse Oðinn, from Proto-Germanic *Wodanaz, name of the chief Germanic god (source of Old English Woden, Old High German Wuotan), from PIE *wod-eno-, *wod-ono- "raging, mad, inspired." Related: Odinism (1796 in reference to the ancient religion; by 1855 in reference to a modern Germanic revival).

also from 19c.

Entries linking to Odin

Wednesday(n.)

fourth day of the week, Middle English Wednes-dai, from Old English wodnesdæg "Woden's day," a Germanic loan-translation of Latin dies Mercurii "day of Mercury" (compare Old Norse Oðinsdagr, Swedish Onsdag, Old Frisian Wonsdei, Middle Dutch Wudensdach). For Woden, see Odin.

Contracted pronunciation is recorded from 15c. The range of Middle English spellings is notable; Middle English Compendium lists among others wedenisdai, wedinsdai, wensdai.

The Odin-based name is missing in German (mittwoch, from Old High German mittwocha, literally "mid-week"), probably by influence of Gothic, which seems to have adopted a pure ecclesiastical (i.e. non-astrological) week from Greek missionaries. The Gothic model also seems to be the source of Polish środa, Russian sreda "Wednesday," literally "middle."

The identification of Odin, chief Germanic god, with Roman Mercury is in Tacitus but has puzzled historians. OED (1989) suggests it is because both were gods of eloquence.

Woden

Anglo-Saxon form of the Germanic god-name, Old English, see Odin, which is the Norse form of it. Preserved in Wednesday, Wansley, and other place names. By normal development the Old English word would be modern *Wooden but it keeps the archaic form.

wood(adj.)

"violently insane, mad, frantic" (senses now obsolete), Middle English wode, from Old English wod "mad, frenzied," from Proto-Germanic *woda-, reconstructed in Watkins to be from PIE *wet- (1) "to blow; inspire, spiritually arouse," source of Latin vates "seer, poet," Old Irish faith "poet;" "with a common element of mental excitement" [Buck].

Germanic cognates include Gothic woþs "possessed, mad," Old High German wuot "mad, madness," German wut "rage, fury." Also compare Old English woþ "sound, melody, song," Old Norse oðr "poetry," and the god-name Odin.

To do something "like mad" in Middle English might be to do it woodiwise (c. 1300) or for wood (late 14c.). Brain-wood was "mindless, out of control;" word-wood "unrestrained in speech."

Potential confusions with wood (n.) might have discouraged its use. The same verb, wõden, in 15c. could mean "take to the woods" (from hunting) or "be or go mad, rave, rage."

Related: Woodship "state of madness, frenzy, rage;" woodness, woodhede "unsoundness of mind, mental disorder."

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Trends of Odin

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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Valhalla

heavenly hall in which Odin receives the souls of heroes slain in battle, 1696 (in Archdeacon Nicolson's "English Historical...

free

personal security; love, friendship," German Friede "peace;" Old English freo "wife;" Old Norse Frigg, name of the wife of Odin...

transgression

late 14c., from Old French transgression "transgression," particularly that relating to Adam and the Fall (12c.), from Late Latin transgressionem (nominative transgressio) "a transgression of the law," in classical Latin, "a going over, a going across," noun of action from transg

suppose

c. 1300, supposen, "hold as a belief or opinion; make a hypothesis, assume as the basis of argument" without regard to truth or falsehood, from Old French suposer "to assume" (13c.), probably a replacement (influenced by Old French poser "put, place") of *suppondre, from Latin su

conference

1550s, "act of consulting together," from French confrence (15c.), from Medieval Latin conferentia, from Latin conferens, present participle of conferre "to bring together; deliberate, talk over," literally "to bring together," from assimilated form of com "together" (see con-) +

Annuit Coeptis

words on the Great Seal of the United States of America, condensed by Charles Thompson, designer of the seal in its final form, from Latin Juppiter omnipotes, audacibus annue coeptis "All-powerful Jupiter favor (my) daring undertakings," line 625 of book IX of Virgil's "Aeneid."

alone

"unaccompanied, solitary; without companions," c. 1300, a contraction of all ane, from Old English all ana "unaccompanied, all by oneself," literally "wholly oneself," from all "all, wholly" (see all) + an "one" (see one). It preserves the old pronunciation of one. Similar compou

regeneration

mid-14c., regeneracioun, "act of regenerating or producing anew," originally spiritual, also of the Resurrection, from Old French regeneracion (Modern French regénération) and directly from Late Latin regenerationem (nominative regeneratio) "a being born again," noun of action fr

sweet

Old English swete, Mercian swoete, "pleasing to the senses, mind or feelings; having a pleasant disposition," from Proto-Germanic *swotja- (source also of Old Saxon swoti, Old Frisian swet, Swedish söt, Danish sød, Middle Dutch soete, Dutch zoet, Old High German swuozi, German sü

catechesis

"oral instruction, catechism," 1753, from Latinized form of Greek katēkhesis "instruction by word of mouth," from katēkhein "to instruct orally," originally "to resound" (with sense evolution via "to sound (something) in someone's ear" to "to teach by word of mouth"). This is fro

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