Word of the Day

: January 25, 2010

Valhalla

noun val-HAL-uh

What It Means

1 : the great hall in Norse mythology where the souls of heroes slain in battle are received

2 : a place of honor, glory, or happiness : heaven

Valhalla in Context

"When the time comes, a lot of folks who vote people into baseball's Valhalla will make character a major qualification." (Sid Dorfman, The Star-Ledger [Newark, New Jersey], September 9, 2009)

Did You Know?

In Norse mythology, the souls of warriors who died nobly in battle were brought to a magnificent palace, where they spent their days fighting for diversion, immune from lasting injury, and their evenings lustily feasting on freshly killed boar and quaffing the free-flowing mead. In Old Norse, the word for this warrior heaven is "Valhǫll" (literally, "hall of the slain"); in German, it is "Walhalla." English speakers picked up the name as "Valhalla" in the 18th century. Nowadays, we can use the word figuratively, and induction or admission into a modern-day Valhalla doesn't require passing from this life. It can be a place of honor (a hall of fame, for example) or a place of bliss (as in "an ice cream lover's Valhalla").