Tatyana wrote:
>Isn't ormr wyrm as opposed to worm? I thought orm
>meant serpent or dragon, not the little wiggly thingy...
I cannot find "wyrm" as a modern English word, though.
And I therefore assume that you wish to contrast Anglo-
-Saxon "wyrm" with modern English "worm".
Interestingly, Anglo-Saxon does not have "worm". It only
has "wurma", but that is the vermiljon color (also called
"purple")
Anglo-Saxon "wyrm" is, however, the same word that developed
into modern English "worm". At the same time the meaning
must have evolved with the word.
In Norway we still say "orm" about adders.
I don't think "orm" is a dragon. There is the word "dreki" for that.
Really tiny worms, insects or maggots are called "maðkr" in Old Norse.
So I guess you are right that orm is the same as wyrm.
However, the dictionary says that A-S wyrm can also
mean the little wiggly thingly...
Keth