Norn

¹ American  

[nawrn] / nɔrn /

noun

1. an extinct Norse dialect, spoken until early modern times in the Shetland and Orkney Islands and in parts of northern Scotland.

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Norn ² American  

[nawrn] / nɔrn /

noun

Scandinavian Mythology.

1. 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.

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Norn ¹ British  

/ nɔːn /

noun

1. Norse myth any of the three virgin goddesses of fate, who predestine the lives of the gods and men

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Norn ² British  

/ nɔːn /

noun

1. the medieval Norse language of the Orkneys, Shetlands, and parts of N Scotland. It was extinct by 1750

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Etymology

Origin of Norn

< Old Norse norrœnn, earlier northrœnn Norwegian, literally, northern

Example Sentences

The island was one of the last places in Shetland where the old Norn language, a relic of Norse times, was spoken.

From BBC • Jan. 12, 2025

It took humans 134 years to discover Norn cells.

From New York Times • Mar. 10, 2024

She’s made early running in various minor Wagnerian roles as far afield as Berlin and Toronto, and sang the Third Norn in the Metropolitan Opera’s “Götterdämmerung” in 2012 and 2013.

From New York Times • May 18, 2015

Ewan Murray reckons the win over Norn Iron proves Craig Levein's claim that Scotland really do have creative options.

From The Guardian • Feb. 11, 2011

Brunhilde, with the young Norn soul That has no peace, and grim as those That spun the thread of life, give heed: Peace is concealed in every rose.

From The Melody of Earth An Anthology of Garden and Nature Poems From Present-Day Poets by Various