fimbulvinter

Danish

Etymology

Reborrowed in the 18th century from (West) Old Norse fimbulvetr.

Noun

fimbulvinter c (singular definite fimbulvinteren, plural indefinite fimbulvintre)

1. (Norse mythology) Fimbulwinter
2. (literally or figuratively) harsh winter

Declension

Declension of fimbulvinter

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	fimbulvinter	fimbulvinteren	fimbulvintre	fimbulvintrene
genitive	fimbulvinters	fimbulvinterens	fimbulvintres	fimbulvintrenes

References

• “fimbulvinter” in Den Danske Ordbog

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse fimbulvetr with the East Nordic-derived form -vinter. From Old East Norse vintr. Compare Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian Bokmål fimbulvinter.

Noun

fimbulvinter m (definite singular vinteren, indefinite plural vintrar, definite plural vintrane)

1. alternative form of fimbulvetter (“Fimbulwinter”)

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse fimbulvetr.

Noun

fimbulvinter c

1. (Norse mythology) Fimbulwinter
   • 2015, Snorre Sturlasson, translated by Karl G. Johansson & Mats Malm, Snorres Edda‎^[1], Bokförlaget Anthropos, accessed at Litteraturbanken.se, archived from the original on 13 May 2025, page 84:

     [D]en vinter som kallas Fimbulvinter kommer. Då driver snö från alla håll.

     The winter called Fimbulwinter will come. Then snow will drift from all directions.

   • 2016, Lars Lönnroth, transl., Den poetiska Eddan, Atlantis, →ISBN, Vaftrudnes visdomstävlan (Vafþrúðnismál) §44:

     Får någon leva kvar / när fimbulvintern / en dag drabbar oss alla?

     Will anyone live on / when the Fimbulwinter / one day comes for us all?

2. (literally or figuratively) harsh winter

   Synonym: vargavinter

   • 1898, Teodor Holmberg, Från skolsalen III‎^[2], Samson & Wallin, accessed at Litteraturbanken.se, courtesy of Uppsala universitetsbibliotek, archived from the original on 14 May 2025, pages 69–70:

     Vi kunna tänka oss, att [...] [ungdomen] offrar sin andes adelskap för kroppens lustar; ja, vi kunna tänka oss [...] att en andlig isperiod, en fimbulvinter, bryter in.

     We can expect that the youth will sacrifice the nobility of the spirit for the lusts of the flesh; yes, we can expect that a spiritual ice age, a harsh winter, will set in.

   • 1921, Torgny Segerstedt, Ur spalterna‎^[3], Albert Bonniers förlag, accessed at Litteraturbanken.se, courtesy of Kungl. biblioteket, archived from the original on 14 May 2025, page 155:

     Allt har sin tid. Den[na] fimbulvinter [...] skall icke vara för evigt. En ny vår skall en gång blomma. Människorna skola åter en gång se rymderna blåna.

     Everything has its time. This harsh winter will not last forever. One day, a new spring will bloom. Humanity will once again see the skies turn blue.

   • 2004 April 8, Göran Greider, “Gud bor inte längre i skogen”, in Aftonbladet‎^[4], archived from the original on 14 May 2025:

     Borta är urskogarna [...] [som] genomlevde fimbulvintrar, blixtnedslag, torka och stormar.

     Gone are the primeval forests that lived through harsh winters, lightning strikes, droughts and storms.

3. (history, archaeology) the volcanic winter of 536

Declension

Declension of fimbulvinter

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	fimbulvinter	fimbulvinters
	definite	fimbulvintern	fimbulvinterns
plural	indefinite	fimbulvintrar	fimbulvintrars
	definite	fimbulvintrarna	fimbulvintrarnas

Alternative forms

• fimbulavinter

References

• “fimbulvinter”, in Svenska Akademiens ordböcker [Dictionaries of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)