Jörmungandr

Jörmungandr is a famous sea serpent from Norse mythology. Known also as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent, Jörmungandr is described as an enormous snake or worm that lives in the ocean surrounding the Earth, biting its own tail. This makes it look like a circle, a symbol 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, where he grew so large that he could wrap around the whole Earth and hold his own tail.

The mighty thunder god Thor often fights with Jörmungandr, and they are considered each other’s biggest rival. During a big event called Ragnarök, Thor and Jörmungandr will have a final, fierce battle, which will end with both of them dying.

Etymology

The name Jǫrmungandr is a special, poetic title. It has two parts: jǫrmun- and gandr. The first part, jǫrmun-, means something huge or very big, like the whole world. The second part, gandr, usually describes long or magical things, such as a snake or a river. Because of this, Jǫrmungandr can mean many 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.