Jörmungandr

Jörmungandr is a famous sea serpent from Norse mythology. It is also called the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent. Jörmungandr is described as a huge snake or worm that lives in the ocean around the Earth. It bites its own tail, making it look like a circle. This shape is called an ouroboros.

In stories, Jörmungandr is one of the children of the god Loki and a giant woman named Angrboða. The god Odin sent Jörmungandr and his siblings far away from the home of the gods, Asgard. Jörmungandr was thrown into the big ocean around the world. There, it grew so large that it could wrap around the whole Earth and hold its own tail.

The thunder god Thor often fights with Jörmungandr, and they are each other’s biggest rival. During a big event called Ragnarök, Thor and Jörmungandr will have a final battle.

Etymology

The name Jǫrmungandr is a special, poetic title. It has two parts: jǫrmun- and gandr. The first part means something huge or very big, like the whole world. The second part usually describes long or magical things, such as a snake or a river. Because of this, Jǫrmungandr can mean things like "the world serpent" or "the world river." It might also connect to the world tree Yggdrasil or show how the serpent wraps around the world, biting its own tail to make a circle.