Editing Ginnungagap (section)

==Etymology==
''Ginnunga-'' is usually interpreted as deriving from a verb meaning "gape" or "yawn", but no such word occurs in Old Norse except in verse 3 of the [[Eddic poem]] "[[Vǫluspá]]", "''gap var ginnunga''", which may be a play on the term.

In her edition of the poem, [[Ursula Dronke]] suggested it was borrowed from [[Old High German]] ''ginunga'', as the term [[Múspell]] is believed to have been borrowed from Old High German.<ref>''The Poetic Edda'', edited with translation introduction and commentary by Ursula Dronke, Volume II: Mythological Poems, Clarendon Press (1997), pp.&nbsp;112–14, note to "Vǫluspá", line 3/7. Dronke notes that [[Þjóðólfr of Hvinir]] also plays on the term in his ''[[Haustlöng|Haustlǫng]]'', with "ginnunga vé".</ref> An alternative etymology links the ''ginn-'' prefix with that found in terms with a sacral meaning, such as ''ginn-heilagr'', ''ginn-regin'' (both referring to the gods) and ''ginn-runa'' (referring to the runes), thus interpreting ''Ginnungagap'' as signifying a "magical (and creative) power-filled space".<ref name=":0">De Vries (1977:167); cf. also Dillmann (1998:118-123).</ref>