Editing Edda (section)

==Etymology==
At least five hypotheses have been suggested for the origins of the word ''edda'':

* One hypothesis holds that it is identical to a word that means "great-grandmother" appearing in the Eddic poem ''Rígsþula.''<ref>Snorri Sturluson.  ''The Prose Edda: Tales from Norse Mythology'', translated by Jean I. Young (University of California Press, 1964), p. 8.</ref> 
* Another hypothesis holds that ''edda'' derives from Old Norse ''óðr'', "poetry".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Faulkes |first1=Anthony |title=Edda |journal=Gripla |date=1977 |volume=2 |url=http://www.vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/Edda.pdf |access-date=8 January 2025}}</ref>
* A third, proposed in 1895 by [[Eiríkur Magnússon|Eiríkr Magnússon]], is that it derives from the Icelandic place name ''[[Oddi]]'', site of the church and school where students, including [[Snorri Sturluson]], were educated.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Liberman | first1 = Anatoly | year = 1996 | title = Ten Scandinavian and North English Etymologies | journal = Alvíssmál | volume = 6 | pages = 63–98 }}</ref>
* A fourth hypothesis—the derivation of the word ''Edda'' as the name of Snorri Sturluson's treatise on poetry from the Latin ''edo'', "I compose (poetry)", by analogy with ''kredda'', "superstition", from Latin ''credo'', "creed"—is now widely accepted, although this acceptance might stem from its agreement with modern usage rather than historical accuracy.<ref>''Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages'' (2010) under "Snorri Sturluson"</ref>
* The fifth hypothesis is based on the past fashion of giving Icelandic manuscripts bird titles. Such are the legal codes ''Grágás'' 'grey goose', ''Gullfjǫðr'' 'gold feather (quill?)', and ''Hryggjar-stykki'' 'a kind of duck'. Perhaps ''Edda'' was also one of such titles: ''Edda'' would be an appropriate 'pet name' of ''æðr'' (pronounced as [æ:ðr] f.) 'eider duck'. Then, ''Edda'' meant 'little eider duck' (an analog of ''Grágás'').<ref name="LIBERMAN-395–405">Liberman, Anatoly (2016). "The Origin of the Name Edda", in Anatoly Liberman, ''In Prayer and Laughter. Essays on Medieval Scandinavian and Germanic Mythology, Literature, and Culture''. Paleograph Press. {{ISBN|9785895260272}}.</ref>