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Jormungandr

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The Midgard Serpent, child of Loki, encircling the world and biting its own tail.

Detailed Definition
Jormungandr, cast into the sea by Odin, grows until it girds Midgard. He battles Thor at Ragnarök, killing and being killed. In poetry, he embodies chaos, cyclical time, and the inescapable nature of fate, central to apocalyptic imagery.
Example
Example in poetry:
Jormungandr, the Midgard Serpent, child of Loki, encircling the world; In eddic poetry, he battles Thor at Ragnarök, killing and dying; Poets use Jormungandr to symbolize chaos, cycles, and oceanic depth; His biting tail forms the ouroboros of Norse cosmology; In kennings, “Jormungandr’s bed” means the sea; Modern eco-poetry uses him as emblem of planetary interconnectedness.
Additional Notes
Jormungandr, the Midgard Serpent, encircles the world and will battle Thor at Ragnarök; their mutual destruction symbolizes the necessary end of protective and chaotic forces—poets can use Jormungandr to explore cycles, containment, or the world as a self-consuming entity.
Also Known As
Jörmungandr Midgard Serpent World Serpent
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