Hi Val,

I suspect that quote is just a non-linguist's guess on the basis of
the similarity in sound. There were no referrences to support the
claim, nor any explanation of how exactly they are supposed to be
related, or why the change in meaning. The implication that valour
is in some way derived from valkyrie is just silly (as you point
out, valour has a well established Latin origin), but could a Latin
word beginning val- be cognate with a Germanic one? I'm not an
expert, but it doesn't seem impossible. Then again, it's also a
very short and simple syllable, so plenty of room for coincidence.

No connection mentioned in Fick-Falk-Torp (Wörterbuch der
Indogermanischen Sprachen: Dritter Teil: Wortschatz der Germanischen
Spracheinheit).

I wonder if there's a connection between 'valr' "the slain",
and 'val' "choice". If the slain are those chosen to die.

Llama Nom

--- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, "valrayno" <vgrayno@...> wrote:
>
>
> >
> > "The legacy of the Valkyrie lives on in the word "valour", a
> > reference to heroism in battle"--first I've heard of this!!
>
> I'm not sure these two word are related. "Valour" is from the
french
> and latin and has to do with strength: Valour, Valiant, even
valid,
> going back to the Latin "valere"- to be strong.
> My name is Val so I have often been wondering myself about the
> connection between the French meaning and the Germanic/Norse
of "the
> slain", but I have found no connection so far. I suppose it is
> possible that valour and Valr could be related very very distantly
or
> that the "valour" was influenced by the word Valkyrie because of
its
> reference to battle. Does anyone know more about this?
>
> Val