Word.ws English Dictionary

Varangian

Syllables: Va·ran·gi·an/vəˈɹæn.d͡ʒi.ən/

Varangian noun: a member of the ethnically Scandinavian people around the borders of Constantinople in the ninth and tenth centuries.

Noun

Varangian (plural Varangians)

  1. (historical) A member of the ethnically Scandinavian people around the borders of Constantinople in the ninth and tenth centuries.
    Synonyms:
    Varyag
  2. (historical) A member of the imperial body guard at Constantinople from 955.
    • The Byzantines continued to recruit elite warriors from the north, not merely from Rus’ but directly from far-off Scandinavia; from the end of the tenth century, they referred to them as ‘Varangians’.2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 506

Adjective

Varangian (not comparable)

  1. Of or pertaining to the Varangians.
  2. Of or pertaining to the Varanger Peninsula in Norway.
  3. Pertaining to a period of intense glaciation during the late Proterozoic eon.

Varangian meaning in Tamil and Marathi

Varangian in Tamil

முற்கால ஸ்காந்தினேவிய கடலோடிக் கொள்ளையர்

Varangian in Marathi

member of a Scandinavian tribe
व्हरँजियन vharĕñjiyan
member of the imperial body guard at Constantinople from 955
व्हरँजियन vharĕñjiyan
of or pertaining to the Varangians
व्हरँजियन vharĕñjiyan

Synonyms of Varangian

Forms of Varangian

pluralVarangians

Origin of Varangian

Ultimately from Byzantine Greek Βάραγγος (Bárangos), from Medieval Latin Varingus, from Old Norse væringr, from várr (“pledge”) or værr (“pledge”), which is cognate with Old English wǣr (“fidelity, loyalty”), + Old Norse gangi (“companion”). Cognate with Old English wærgenga.

Questions about Varangian

What does Varangian mean?
Varangian means a member of the ethnically Scandinavian people around the borders of Constantinople in the ninth and tenth centuries.
What is Varangian in Tamil?
Varangian in Tamil is முற்கால ஸ்காந்தினேவிய கடலோடிக் கொள்ளையர். See Varangian meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is Varangian?
Varangian can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce Varangian?
Varangian is pronounced /vəˈɹæn.d͡ʒi.ən/.
What is the plural of Varangian?
The plural of Varangian is Varangians.

Words near Varangian in the dictionary

  1. Varaha
  2. varan
  3. Varanasi
  4. Varanasi Division
  5. Varanger Peninsula
  6. Varangian
  7. Varangians
  8. varanian
  9. varanid
  10. varanids
  11. varaniform

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Varangian (page history and authors); varangian (Tamil Wiktionary) (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:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Varangian.wav.

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