Norn1
[nawrn]
- an extinct Norse dialect, spoken until early modern times in the Shetland and Orkney Islands and in parts of northern Scotland.
Show More
Origin of Norn1
Norn2
[nawrn]
- any of three goddesses of fate, the goddess of the past (Urd), the goddess of the present (Verdandi), and the goddess of the future (Skuld).
Show More
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for norn
Historical Examples
Come on, Norn, we're about dead, standing on these flinty-hearted steps.
Miss Pat at SchoolPemberton Ginther
I don't think it would be such a bad sort of thing, do you, Norn?
Miss Pat at SchoolPemberton Ginther
We caught our first view of Bruce Haydon here—remember, Norn?
Miss Pat at SchoolPemberton Ginther
We've got a surprise for you, Norn, but we won't tell till we've had lunch; will we, Ju?
Miss Pat at SchoolPemberton Ginther
There isn't anything that tells the truth so straight as our sort of work, Norn.
Miss Pat at SchoolPemberton Ginther
Norn1
- Norse myth any of the three virgin goddesses of fate, who predestine the lives of the gods and men
Show More
Word Origin
C18: Old Norse
Norn2
- the medieval Norse language of the Orkneys, Shetlands, and parts of N Scotland. It was extinct by 1750
Show More
Word Origin
C17: from Old Norse norŕœna Norwegian, from northr north
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for norn
Norn
n.
1770, from Old Norse norn (plural nornir), one of the female fates of Scandinavian mythology, related to Swedish dialectal norna "to warn, to communicate secretly," perhaps ultimately imitative of low murmuring (cf. Middle High German narren "to growl, snarl").
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper