Etymology/meaning/onomatopoeic aspects of the word "Urth"

Dan'l Danehy-Oakes · 24 Apr 2008, 18:25 · from 2008-April.txt.gz

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From: danldo at gmail.com (Dan'l Danehy-Oakes)
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:25:26 -0700
Subject: (urth) Etymology/meaning/onomatopoeic aspects of the word "Urth"
In-Reply-To: <73d3d6710804241020k7c71f1a0u6fd02ac36c946de4 at mail.gmail.com>
References: <73d3d6710804241020k7c71f1a0u6fd02ac36c946de4 at mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <1f7617370804241125k69e003eas44ef647dfd77ac38 at mail.gmail.com>

Pavel,

There's a fair amount packed into the name. Urth or Urdr or Urd is the name
of the eldest of the three Norns, the Norse equivalent of the Fates. The
names of the other two, Skuld and Verthandi, are given to Mars and Venus
in the New Sun epoch.

But there's more: another variant on the name of Urd is Wurd, or Wyrd,
which means, simply, fate or destiny. Urth is in some sense the destined
world.

And, as long as we're poking at names, let's not forget Lune, whose
name is of course a variation of Luna, Moon, but which also suggests
to an English speaker a Loon, or Lunatic, a madman (or woman).

The Moon itself, because of its phases, has traditionally been taken to
hold in itself all three phases of the Triple Goddess, of whom the
Fates/Norns are one variation/version, not to be confused with the Furies
and the Graces, who are also incarnations of the Triple Goddess (indeed,
the nine Muses may be also, depending on whom you ask).

The Three are Maiden, Mother, and Crone, and one of the significances
of "Urth" is that Mother Earth is no longer a Mother, she is now a Crone;
she is barren. Her function is to cut the thread that Skuld spins and
Verthandi dyes.

When Urth becomes Ushas, she becomes the Maiden once again.

2008/4/24 Pavel Baki? <pavelbak at gmail.com>:
> A question for the first-language speakers out there: We have a discussion
> going on concerning a proper rendering of the word "Urth" into Czech, and
> would appreciate any comments concerning the connotations the word has for a
> native speaker, apart form the obvious "Earth". An existing translation of
> The Shadow of the Torturer has "Urzem?", which translates literally as
> "Ur-Earth" (without the repetition of the "r" phoneme or the
> "vowel-consonant[s]" syllable structure, of course).
>
> I did search for previous threads concerning the topic, but the fact of the
> archive-site being itself called Urth made it somewhat difficult.
>
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-- 
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, writer, trainer, bon vivant
-----
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Island Dressing and a bottle of chili sauce. -- T. Pratchett

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