Word.ws English Dictionary

Muspell

Muspell proper noun: the primordial realm of fire which existed to the south of Ginnungagap.

Proper noun

Muspell

  1. (Germanic, Norse) The primordial realm of fire which existed to the south of Ginnungagap.
    • At the beginning of time there was Muspell, which was the realm of Fire.2003, Kim Farnell, Reading the Runes, A Beginner's Guide, Zambezi Publishing, →ISBN, page 21
    • Certainly the encounter between the cold of Niflheim and the fires of Muspel suggests the chemical reactions that led to the evolution of the planetary surface and its atmosphere.2005, Diana Paxson, Taking Up the Runes, Weiser Books, →ISBN, page 323
    Synonyms:
    Muspelheim, Muspellheim

Synonyms of Muspell

  • Muspelheim
  • Muspellheim

Origin of Muspell

Borrowed from Old Norse Muspell. The ultimate origin is disputed, but one suggestion includes Latin mundus (“world”) + Proto-Germanic *spilþijaną (“to kill, ruin, murder”), thus meaning "destruction of the world." More at Muspilli. Cognates include Old Saxon mūdspelli, Old High German muspilli. More at spill.

Questions about Muspell

What does Muspell mean?
Muspell means the primordial realm of fire which existed to the south of Ginnungagap.
What part of speech is Muspell?
Muspell is a proper noun.

Words near Muspell in the dictionary

  1. Musorgsky
  2. musos
  3. musoscale
  4. musou
  5. musous
  6. Muspell
  7. musquash
  8. musquashes
  9. musquaspen
  10. musquaw
  11. musquaws

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Muspell (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “Muspell.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/muspell. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.