Jötunn

A jötunn or jotun , or archaic ettin in English, also translated as giant, is a type of being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, jötnar are often contrasted with gods (the Æsir and Vanir) and with other non-human figures, such as dwarfs and elves, although the groupings are not always mutually exclusive. The entities included in the jötunn category are referred to by several other terms, including risi, þurs (or thurs) and troll if male and gýgr or tröllkona if female. The jötnar typically dwell across boundaries from the gods and humans in lands such as Jötunheimr.

The jötnar are frequently attested throughout the Old Norse records, with eotenas also featuring in the Old English epic poem Beowulf. The usage of the terms is dynamic, with an overall trend that the beings become portrayed as less impressive and more negative as Christianity becomes more influential over time. Although the term "giant" is sometimes used to gloss the word "jötunn" and its apparent synonyms in some translations and academic texts, this is seen as problematic by some scholars as jötnar are not necessarily notably large.

The terms for the beings also have cognates in later folklore such as the English yotun, Danish jætte and Finnish jätti which can share some common features, such as being turned to stone in the day and living on the periphery of society.

Origin, appearance and terminology

Terms and etymology

Old Norse jötunn and Old English eoten developed from the Proto-Germanic masculine noun *etunaz. Philologist Vladimir Orel says that semantic connections between *etunaz and Proto-Germanic *etanan ('to eat') make a relation between the two words likely.