1
: a member of a race of dwarfs in Germanic legend
2
: any of the followers of Siegfried
3
: any of the Burgundian kings in the medieval German Nibelungenlied

Examples of Nibelung in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Large-scale martial arts organizations and events have proliferated for years in Germany, chief among them the Battle of the Nibelungs, which attracts hundreds of right-wing extremists from around Europe and the United States. Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2023 Over the years, the Dallas Opera has individually produced the four operas of Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung, but never as a cycle. Dallas News, 4 Feb. 2023

Word History

Etymology

German

First Known Use

1814, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Nibelung was in 1814

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Cite this Entry

“Nibelung.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Nibelung. Accessed 31 Jul. 2026.

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