HomeServicesBlogDictionariesContactSpanish Course
← Back to search

Meaning of völva | Babel Free

Noun CEFR B1
/ˈvɜːlvə/

Definitions

  1. In Old Norse society, a female practitioner of magic divination and prophecy.
    Germanic, historical
  2. A cup-shaped mass at the base of various fungi.
  3. Any prophetess, sooth-sayer, or witch.
    broadly
  4. The membranous covering which completely encloses many fungi in the early stage of growth.

Equivalents

Deutsch Völva
Español völva
Français volva
Italiano völva
Nederlands völva
Português völva
Русский вёльва
Svenska völva

Examples

“In the Eddas, Odin conjures up a dead volva and questions her about Baldur's fate.”
“In another account a volva was paid by a king to find his nephews who had been hidden by a man skilled in magick.”
“There is another story in Landnamabok telling of a volva who actively brought prosperity to the fishing activity of the people through her use of seidr.”
“The genus Amanita has both a volva and a veil; the spores are white, and the stem is easily separable from the cap.”

CEFR level

B1
Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B1 vocabulary — intermediate level.

See also

Learn this word in context

See völva used in real conversations inside our free language course.

Start Free Course