ettin means A giant. It carries an Arena rating of 1524, earned across 13 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, ettin ranks #254 of 14,297 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #274 of 14,438 for Most Storied Words, #287 of 14,322 for Scariest Words, #516 of 14,448 for Funniest Words.
ettin is pronounced /ˈɛtɪn/.
Why “ettin” is a great word
A giant, particularly a two-headed giant in modern fantasy. Its name is resurrected from Old English *eoten* ("giant, monster, enemy"), a word descended from Proto-West Germanic *etun and Proto-Germanic *etunaz ("giant, glutton"), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁ed- ("to eat"). Unlike *jotun*, a being bound to the frost and fire of Norse cosmology, or *ogre*, a creature defined by folkloric cruelty and appetite, the ettin is an archaic English specter, refined by fantasy into a specific, divided form. It is the dissonant argument between two snarling heads over a single course of action, the heavy turn of two sets of watchful eyes scanning different horizons, and the earth-shaking tread of a creature perpetually at war with itself—a lumbering monument to the primal fear that what is large and powerful may also be fundamentally, tragically divided.
Etymology
From Middle English eten, etend, from Old English eoten (“giant, monster, enemy”), from Proto-West Germanic *etun, from Proto-Germanic *etunaz (“giant, glutton”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ed- (“to eat”). Cognate with Icelandic jötunn (“giant”), Swedish jätte (“giant”), Danish jætte (“giant”). Doublet of jotun.
noun
- A giant.
- A giant with two heads.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- thurse 82% match — A giant; a gigantic spectre; an apparition. vs ettin →
- linnorm 80% match — A wingless bipedal dragon; a lindworm. vs ettin →
- titan 79% match — Something or someone of very large stature, greatness, or godliness. vs ettin →
- lindworm 79% match — A wingless serpentine dragon having two arms. vs ettin →
- firedrake 79% match — A fire-breathing dragon. vs ettin →
- hydra 79% match — A dragon-like creature with many heads and the ability to regrow them when maimed. vs ettin →
- minotaur 78% match — Anything resembling the Greek monster, whether by appearance or by strength. vs ettin →
- goblin 78% match — Traditionally, a supernatural being of folklore, typically small and grotesque or misshapen, that commonly haunts dark places, often mischievous or malevolent; a type of evil elf, sprite, or demon. vs ettin →