edda

2 definitions found

edda - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Edda \Ed"da\, n.; pl. Eddas. [Icel., lit. great-grandmother
     (i. e., of Scandinavian poetry), so called by Bishop
     Brynj['u]lf Sveinsson, who brought it again to light in
     1643.]
     The religious or mythological book of the old Scandinavian
     tribes of German origin, containing two collections of Sagas
     (legends, myths) of the old northern gods and heroes.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: There are two Eddas. The older, consisting of 39 poems,
           was reduced to writing from oral tradition in Iceland
           between 1050 and 1133. The younger or prose Edda,
           called also the Edda of Snorri, is the work of
           several writers, though usually ascribed to Snorri
           Sturleson, who was born in 1178. Eddaic

edda - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  edda
      n 1: tropical starchy tuberous root [syn: taro, taro root,
           cocoyam, dasheen, edda]
      2: either of two distinct works in Old Icelandic dating from the
         late 13th century and consisting of 34 mythological and
         heroic ballads composed between 800 and 1200; the primary
         source for Scandinavian mythology