Mimir

Mimir [mē′mir΄]

n.

〚ON Mīmir, redupl. of Gmc * mer- < IE base * (s)mer-, to remember > MOURN〛

Norse Myth. a giant guarding the spring of wisdom at the root of the tree Ygdrasil

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Mi·mir (mēʹmîr') n. Mythology

A Norse giant who lived by the roots of Yggdrasil, where he guarded the well of wisdom.

  [Old Norse. See (s)mer-¹.

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In Norse mythology, the wisest of the gods of the tribe Aesir.

He was also believed to be a water spirit. Mimir was sent by the Aesir as a hostage to the rival gods (the Vanir), but he was decapitated and his head was returned to the Aesir. Odin preserved the head in herbs and gained knowledge from it. Other tales claim that Mimir lived by a well beneath the roots of Yggdrasill, the world tree, and that he was a smith who taught the hero Siegfried his craft.

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▪ Norse mythology

Old Norse  Mímir 

      in Norse mythology, the wisest of the gods of the tribe Aesir; (Aesir) he was also believed to be a water spirit. Mimir was sent by the Aesir as a hostage to the rival gods (the Vanir), but he was decapitated and his head was returned to the Aesir. The god Odin preserved the head in herbs and gained knowledge from it. According to another story, Mimir resided by a well that stood beneath one of the roots of Yggdrasill, the world tree. That well, sometimes called Mímisbrunnr, contained one of Odin's eyes, which Odin had pledged in order to drink from the waters and receive wisdom. In another myth, Mimir was a smith who taught the hero Siegfried his craft.

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