Etymology
Whereas the origin of the name norn is uncertain, it may derive from a word meaning "to twine" and which would refer to their twining the thread of fate.
The name Urðr (Wyrd, Weird) means "fate". Both Urðr and Verðandi are derived from the Old Norse verb verða, "to be". While Urðr derives from the past tense ("that which became or happened"), Verðandi derives from the present tense of verða ("that which is happening"). Skuld is derived from the Old Norse verb skole/skulle, "need/ought to be/shall be"; its meaning is "that which should become, or that needs to occur".
Read more about this topic: Norns
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)