Valkyrie definitions

wäl-kîr'ē, -kī'rē, väl-, wäl'kə-rē, väl'-
Any of Odin's handmaidens who conducted the souls of the slain to Valhalla.
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Any of the handmaidens of Odin who conduct the souls of heroes slain in battle to Valhalla and attend them there.
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(Norse mythology) Any of the female attendants of Odin, figures said to guide fallen warriors from the battlefield to Valhalla.

Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen (published 1853) famously features valkyries.

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Alternative spelling of valkyrie.
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Origin of valkyrie

From Old Norse valkyrja (“chooser of the slain", singular), plural valkyrjur (plural), either from Germanic roots equivalent to, or formed in Norse from, the elements valr (“the slain") + kjósa (“to choose"). Cognate to Old English wælcyrge. First attested in English as a proper noun (Valkyries) in the 1770s; attested as a common noun (valkyries) since the 1880s.

Sentence Examples

  • Valkyrie's musical talent first revealed itself at a similar time.

  • On the summit of a fire-girt hill Sigurd found the Valkyrie Brunhild in an enchanted sleep, and ravished by her beauty awakened her; they plighted their troth to each other and, next morning, Sigurd left her to set out once more on his journey.

  • So Sigurd, assuming Gunnar's shape, rode through the flames on his magic horse, and in sign of troth exchanged rings with the Valkyrie, giving her the ring of Andvari.

  • Morgain herself has many traits in common with the Valkyrie; she is one of nine sisters, she can fly through the air as a bird (Swan maiden); she possesses a marvellous ointment (as does Hilde, the typical Valkyr).

  • The story begins as the former Emperor of the oddly named Uricointi Empire decides to release the four immortal heroes -- the Warrior, Elf, Valkyrie and Wizard -- from their bondage.

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Words near valkyrie in the Dictionary