vanir

Old Norse

Etymology

Plural of vanr. Related to Proto-Germanic *wanaz (“accustomed”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to love”).

Proper noun

vanir m pl

1. the principal deities, as a group, of the Norse pantheon that represent chaos, fertility, and cultivation; opponents of the Æsir.
2. members of the Swedish royal family whose ancestry is traditionally traced to one of the Vanir deities.

Coordinate terms

• alfar
• jǫtnar
• æsir