Wotan

English

Etymology

Borrowed from German Wotan. Doublet of Woden and Odin.

Proper noun

Wotan

1. (Germanic mythology) Odin, especially in his continental Germanic form.
   • 1894, William James Henderson, Preludes and Studies: Musical Themes of the Day, page 17:

     Wotan, finding that there is no escape, turns for help and advice to Loge, the God of Evil, the spirit of flickering, treacherous fire, the master of cunning and deceit; and he introduces to gods and giants the lust for gold.

   • 2012, Ian Bradley, God Save the Queen: The Spiritual Heart of the Monarchy, A&C Black, →ISBN, page 70:

     In Anglo-Saxon mythology, kings were descended from Wotan, or Odin, the high god of the Teutonic pantheon.

Derived terms

• Wotanism
• Wotanist

Anagrams

• A-Town, woant

German

Alternative forms

• Wodan, Wuodan, Wuotan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Old High German Wodan, from Proto-Germanic *Wōdanaz. Cognate with English Woden, Norwegian Nynorsk, Danish, and Swedish Oden, and Icelandic Óðinn. Doublet of Odin.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

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Proper noun

Wotan m (proper noun, strong, genitive Wotans)

1. (Germanic mythology and paganism) Woden/Odin, a major Germanic god often described as chief of the pantheon.

   Synonym: Odin

2. a male given name from Old High German, of rare usage

Descendants

• → English: Wotan

Trivia

Attested since the 12th century in the Latin Chronicon of Godfrey of Viterbo, where it is spelled Wotan. After Christianization, the name appears to have persisted in folklore and formed various derivations, such as Old High German Wuotunc, Wodunc; Middle High German Wüetung. In literary modern German, the spellings Wodan and Wotan competed during the early 19th century, but Wotan became prevalent in the wake of Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, published in 1853. A male given name Wotan (also Wuotan, Woatan) is attested in Latin beginning in the 9th century. It became obsolete during the high medieval period, but was revived as a rare given name in the 20th century.