ssnack:Nibelung, n." - Word of the Day from the OED Inbox x oedwotd@oup.com 8:30 PM (2 hours ago) to OEDWOTD-L OED Online Word of the Day The March 2013 quarterly update is now available. New words and meanings have been added across the dictionary, including braggadocious, podium, Vulcan, and whip-smart. Find out more... Your word for today is: Nibelung, n. Nibelung, n. [‘ A member of a subterranean people who guarded the hoard of gold and treasures sought and eventually taken by Siegfried. Chiefly in pl.’] Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈniːbəlʊŋ/, U.S. /ˈnibəˌlʊŋ/ Inflections: Plural Nibelungs, Nibelungen. Forms: 18– Nibelung, 18– Niblung irreg., 18– Niebelung irreg.. Etymology: < German Nibelung, singular form corresponding to Nibelungen (plural; Middle High German Nibelungen), the name of a legendary Germanic people whose activities are related in the Nibelungenlied (see Nibelungenlied n.), cognate with Middle Low German Nivelingen ( > Old Icelandic Niflungar); further etymology uncertain and disputed. The name of the legendary Germanic people is often interpreted as a formation from the Germanic base of Old High German nibul cloud, mist, darkness (see nebula n.) and the Germanic base of -ing suffix3, frequently glossed as e.g. ‘children of the mist’ However, it has been suggested that the name is ultimately to be connected with post-classical Latin Nebulones, a name applied to the Franks, and further (less securely) with Nivelles, the name of a town in Belgium which was an important centre in the Merovingian period. For further discussion see e.g. J De Vries Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (1961) at Niflungar. Germanic Mythol. A member of a subterranean people who guarded the hoard of gold and treasures sought and eventually taken by Siegfried. Chiefly in pl. The characterization of the Nibelungs as dwarfs originated with Richard Wagner in the 19th cent. @maggie
