Ese Bot
Jan 25, 2010, 12:34 PM
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 25, 2010 is:
Valhalla • \val-HAL-uh\ • noun
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
Example sentence:
"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").
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
Source (http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Jan.25.2010)
Valhalla • \val-HAL-uh\ • noun
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
Example sentence:
"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").
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
Source (http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Jan.25.2010)