Odinus

Latin

Alternative forms

• Ōthinus
• Ōthin (indeclinable)

Etymology

From Old Norse Óðinn. Morphologically, the second n of Óðinn is parallel to Latin -us.

The th-variants originate with native speakers of Old Norse, and likely reflect their spelling and pronunciation habits.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈoː.di.nus/, [ˈoːd̪ɪnʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈo.di.nus/, [ˈɔːd̪inus]

Proper noun

Ōdinus m sg (genitive Ōdinī); second declension

1. (Medieval Latin, Norse mythology, Germanic paganism) Odin
   • c. 1200, Saxo Grammaticus, Gesta Danorum book 1 chapter 7.1 and book 2 chapter 7.25:

     Ea tempestate cum Othinus quidam Europa tota falso diuinitatis titulo censeretur ...

     In those days there was someone called Odin, who was in all of Europe falsely considered to be a divinity ...

     Et nunc ille ubi sit, qui uulgo dicitur Othin
     Armipotens, uno semper contentus ocello?

     And now where is he, whom people call Odin,
     Armipotent, always content with a single eye?

Usage notes

• Also called Mercury (Mercurius), via interpretation.

Declension

Second-declension noun, singular only.

	singular
nominative	Ōdinus
genitive	Ōdinī
dative	Ōdinō
accusative	Ōdinum
ablative	Ōdinō
vocative	Ōdine

Synonyms

• Vōdanus (from continental Germanic, attested in the 7th century in Vita Sancti Columbani by Jonas of Bobbio)

References

• Odinus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)