Valhalla

[val-hal-uh, vahl-hah-luh] /vælˈhæl ə, vɑlˈhɑ lə/

noun, Scandinavian Mythology

the hall of Odin into which the souls of heroes slain in battle and others who have died bravely are received.

Also, Valhall

[val-hal, val-hal] /vælˈhæl, ˈvæl hæl/ (Show IPA), Walhalla, Walhall.

Origin

1760-70; Latinized form of Old Norse Valhǫll, equivalent to val(r) the slain in battle, slaughter (cognate with Old English wæl) + hǫll hall

British Dictionary definitions for Valhalla

Valhalla

/vælˈhælə/

noun

(Norse myth) the great hall of Odin where warriors who die as heroes in battle dwell eternally

Word Origin

C18: from Old Norse, from valr slain warriors + höllhall

Word Origin and History for Valhalla

heavenly hall in which Odin receives the souls of heroes slain in battle, 1768, from Old Norse Valhöll "hall of the battle-slain;" first element from valr "those slain in battle," from Proto-Germanic *walaz (cf. Old English wæl "slaughter, bodies of the slain," Old High German wal "battlefield, slaughter"), from PIE root *wele- "to strike, wound" (cf. Avestan vareta- "seized, prisoner," Latin veles "ghosts of the dead," Old Irish fuil "blood," Welsh gwel "wound"). Second element is from höll "hall," from PIE root *kel- "to conceal" (see cell). Reintroduced by 18c. antiquaries. Figurative sense is from 1845.

Valhalla in Culture

Valhalla [(val-hal-uh)]

In Norse mythology, a dwelling in Asgard, the Norse heaven, reserved for the souls of those who died heroic deaths.