Ragnarok

See also: ragnarok, ragnarök, Ragnarök, and ragnarǫk

English

WOTD – 31 October 2008

Alternative forms

• Ragnarök, ragnarök

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Norse ragnarǫk (modern Icelandic ragnarök), from regin (“gods”) + rǫk (“fate, judgment”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɹæɡ.nəˌɹɒk/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɹæɡ.nəˌɹɔk/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Rag‧na‧rok

Proper noun

Ragnarok

1. (Norse mythology) A series of future events culminating in a battle, fought between the Æsir and einherjar on one side, and the forces of Surtr, Loki, and Loki's children on the other, in which all of creation is burned down and almost all life is extinguished.
   • 1858, Thomas Carlyle, chapter VIII, in History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great, volume II, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book VII, page 274:

     Wilhelmina weeps, now and then, with her good Sonsfeld; hopes nevertheless there will be some dawn to this ragnarök, or general ‘twilight of the gods.’

   • 1902, Charles Kingsley, “Ancient Civilisation”, in Historical Lectures and Essays, Macmillan and Co.:

     And all that is before them and the whole civilised world, would be long centuries of anarchy such as the world has not seen for ages—a true Ragnarok, a twilight of the very gods, an age such as the wise woman foretold in the old Voluspà.

   • 1916 February, H. P. Lovecraft, “The Teuton's Battle-Song”, in United Amateur‎^[1]:

     But this heaven was not to last forever. Some day would come Ragnarok, or the Twilight of the Gods, when all creation would be destroyed, and all the Gods and men save Alfadur perish. Surtur, after killing the last of these Gods, would burn up the world.

Synonyms

• (final battle): apocalypse, armageddon, doomsday, Götterdämmerung, judgement day, Twilight of the Gods

Translations

the final battle in Norse mythology

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 諸神的黃昏／诸神的黄昏 (zhū shén de huánghūn)

• Danish: ragnarok
• Dutch: ragnarok
• Estonian: ragnarök
• Faroese: ragnarøk
• Finnish: ragnarök
• French: Ragnarök (fr) m
• Georgian: რაგნაროკი (ragnaroḳi)
• German: Ragnarök n or f, Götterdämmerung (de) f
• Hungarian: Ragnarök
• Icelandic: Ragnarök
• Japanese: ラグナロク (ja) (Ragunaroku), 神々の黄昏 (かみがみのたそがれ, kamigami no tasogare)
• Korean: 라그나로크 (Rageunarokeu)
• Kyrgyz: Рагнарөк (Ragnarök)
• Marathi: राग्नारोक (rāgnārok)
• Norwegian Bokmål: ragnarok n
• Norwegian Nynorsk: ragnarok n
• Portuguese: Ragnarok m
• Russian: Рагнарёк (Ragnarjók), Судьба богов (Sudʹba bogov)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Рагнарек m, Рагнарок m

  Roman: Ragnarek m, Ragnarok m

• Spanish: ragnarok m
• Swedish: Ragnarök
• Ukrainian: Ра́гнарок m (Ráhnarok), Ра́ґнарок m (Rágnarok), Ра́гнаре́к m (Ráhnarék)

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁa.ɡu.i.naˈɾɔ.ki/ [ha.ɡʊ.i.naˈɾɔ.ki], /ʁa.ɡu.i.naˈɾɔk/ [ha.ɡʊ.i.naˈɾɔk], /ʁa.ɡi.naˈɾɔ.ki/ [ha.ɡi.naˈɾɔ.ki], /ʁa.ɡi.naˈɾɔk/ [ha.ɡi.naˈɾɔk]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁa.ɡu.i.naˈɾɔ.ki/ [ha.ɡʊ.i.naˈɾɔ.ki], /ʁa.ɡu.i.naˈɾɔk/ [ha.ɡʊ.i.naˈɾɔk], /ʁa.ɡi.naˈɾɔ.ki/ [ha.ɡi.naˈɾɔ.ki], /ʁa.ɡi.naˈɾɔk/ [ha.ɡi.naˈɾɔk]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ʁa.ɡu.i.naˈɾɔ.ki/ [χa.ɡʊ.i.naˈɾɔ.ki], /ʁa.ɡu.i.naˈɾɔk/ [χa.ɡʊ.i.naˈɾɔk], /ʁa.ɡi.naˈɾɔ.ki/ [χa.ɡi.naˈɾɔ.ki], /ʁa.ɡi.naˈɾɔk/ [χa.ɡi.naˈɾɔk]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁa.ɡu.i.naˈɾɔk/ [ha.ɡʊ.i.naˈɾɔk], /ʁa.ɡu.i.naˈɾɔ.ki/ [ha.ɡʊ.i.naˈɾɔ.ki], /ʁa.ɡi.naˈɾɔk/ [ha.ɡi.naˈɾɔk], /ʁa.ɡi.naˈɾɔ.ki/ [ha.ɡi.naˈɾɔ.ki]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁɐ.ɡi.nɐˈɾɔk/ [ʁɐ.ɣi.nɐˈɾɔk]

Proper noun

Ragnarok m

1. (Norse mythology) Ragnarok (end of the world in Norse mythology)