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Origin and history of Valhalla

Valhalla(n.)

in Scandinavian mythology the heavenly hall in which Odin receives the souls of heroes slain in battle, 1696 (in Archdeacon Nicolson's "English Historical Library"), from Old Norse Valhöll "hall of the battle-slain."

The first element is from valr "those slain in battle," from Proto-Germanic *walaz (source also of Old English wæl "slaughter, bodies of the slain," Old High German wal "battlefield, slaughter"), from PIE root *wele- (2) "to strike, wound" (source also of Avestan vareta- "seized, prisoner," Latin veles "ghosts of the dead," Old Irish fuil "blood," Welsh gwel "wound"). The second element is from höll "hall" (from PIE root *kel- (1) "to cover, conceal, save").

Reintroduced by 18c. antiquaries. The figurative sense is by 1845.

also from 1696

Entries linking to Valhalla

Valkyrie(n.)

"one of the war-maidens who escorted the brave dead to Valhalla," 1768 (Gray), from Old Norse valkyrja, literally "chooser of the slain," from valr "those slain in battle" (see Valhalla) + kyrja "chooser," from ablaut root of kjosa "to choose" (see choose (v.)).

The Old English form was Wælcyrie, but they seem not to have figured as largely in Anglo-Saxon tales as in Scandinavian. Walkirie continued in early Middle English as "witch, sorceress. wise-woman, fate-reader." German Walküre (Wagner) is from Norse. Related: Valkyrian.

vulnerable(adj.)

"capable of being wounded," c. 1600, from Late Latin vulnerabilis "wounding," from Latin vulnerare "to wound, hurt, injure, maim," from vulnus (genitive vulneris) "wound," perhaps related to vellere "pluck, to tear" (see svelte), or from PIE *wele-nes-, from *wele- (2) "to strike, wound" (see Valhalla).

By 1790 in reference to places, "open to attack." There is at least one early use in the sense of "capable of wounding, dangerous" (c. 1600). Earlier, now obsolete, are vulnerate (v.) "to wound" (c. 1500); vulneration "wounding" (early 15c.).

*kel-(1)

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to cover, conceal, save."

It might form all or part of: Anselm; apocalypse; Brussels; caliology; Calypso; calyx; ceiling; cell; cellar; cellular; cellulite; cellulitis; cilia; clandestine; cojones; coleoptera; color; conceal; eucalyptus; hall; hell; helm (n.2) "a helmet;" helmet; hold (n.2) "space in a ship below the lower deck;" hole; hollow; holster; housing (n.2) "ornamental covering;" hull (n.1) "seed covering;" kil-; kleptomania; occult; rathskeller; supercilious; Valhalla; William.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit cala "hut, house, hall;" Greek kalia "hut, nest," kalyptein "to cover," koleon, koleos "sheath," kelyphos "shell, husk;" Latin cella "small room, store room, hut," celare "to hide, conceal," clam "secret," clepere "to steal, listen secretly to;" Old Irish cuile "cellar," celim "hide," Middle Irish cul "defense, shelter;" Gothic hulistr "covering," Old English heolstor "lurking-hole, cave, covering," Gothic huljan "to cover over," hulundi "hole," hilms "helmet," halja "hell," Old English hol "cave," holu "husk, pod;" Old Prussian au-klipts "hidden;" Old Church Slavonic poklopu "cover, wrapping."

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