stoor worm

Meaning

Noun

• A giant sea serpent or sea dragon in Orcadian folklore, which had putrid breath, probably an Orkney version of Jörmungandr.

Origin

• The first element may be stour (cognate to Old Norse stórr), or it may be from Old Norse Storðar-gandr, an alternative name for Jörmungandr, from poetic use of storð to mean "earth", whence storðar men, "earth's necklace", i.e. "sea" (storð more often meant "wood" and storðar-gandr more often meant "wood's bane" i.e. "fire"). The second element is worm.