Norn

[nawrn]

noun

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

Origin of Norn

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

Norn

[nawrn]

noun Scandinavian Mythology.

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).

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for norn

Historical Examples of norn

Come on, Norn, we're about dead, standing on these flinty-hearted steps.
Miss Pat at School
Pemberton Ginther
I don't think it would be such a bad sort of thing, do you, Norn?
Miss Pat at School
Pemberton Ginther
We caught our first view of Bruce Haydon here—remember, Norn?
Miss Pat at School
Pemberton 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 School
Pemberton Ginther
There isn't anything that tells the truth so straight as our sort of work, Norn.
Miss Pat at School
Pemberton Ginther

British Dictionary definitions for norn

Norn

noun

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

Word Origin for Norn

C18: Old Norse

Norn

noun

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

Word Origin for Norn

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

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").