Editing Loki (section)

==Etymology and alternate names==
The [[etymology]] of the name ''Loki'' has been extensively debated. The name has been associated with the Old Norse word ''logi'' ('flame') at times, but there doesn't seem to be a sound linguistic basis for this. Rather, the later Scandinavian variants of the name (such as Faroese ''Lokki'', Danish ''Lokkemand'', Norwegian ''Loke'' and ''Lokke'', Swedish ''Luki'' and ''Luku'') point to an origin in the Germanic root *''luk''-, which denoted things to do with loops (like knots, hooks, closed-off rooms, and locks). This corresponds with usages such as the Swedish ''lockanät'' and Faroese ''[[:wikt:lokkanet#Faroese|lokkanet]]'' ('cobweb', literally 'Lokke's web') and Faroese ''lokki''~''grindalokki''~''grindalokkur'', 'daddy-long-legs' referring both to [[Crane fly|crane flies]] and [[harvestmen]], as well as modern Swedish ''[[:sv:Lockespindlar|lockespindlar]]'' ("Locke-spiders"). Some Eastern Swedish traditions referring to the same figure use forms in ''n''- like ''Nokk(e)'', but this corresponds to the *''luk''- etymology insofar, as those dialects consistently used a different root, Germanic *''hnuk''-, in contexts where western varieties used *''luk''-: "''nokke'' corresponds to ''nøkkel''" ('key' in Eastern Scandinavian) "as ''loki''~''lokke'' to ''lykil''" ('key' in Western Scandinavian).<ref>{{cite journal|author=Heide, Eldar |url=http://eldar-heide.net/Publikasjonar%20til%20heimesida/Loke-artikkel%20til%20nettsida.pdf |title=Loki, the ''Vätte'', and the Ash Lad: A Study Combining Old Scandinavian and Late Material|journal=Viking and Medieval Scandinavia|volume= 7 |year=2011|pages=63–106 (65–75, quoting p. 75)|doi=10.1484/J.VMS.1.102616}}</ref>

While it has been suggested that this association with closing could point to Loki's apocalyptic role at [[Ragnarök]],{{sfnp|Simek|2007|p=195}} "there is quite a bit of evidence that Loki in premodern society was thought to be the causer of knots/tangles/loops, or himself a knot/tangle/loop. Hence, it is natural that Loki is the inventor of the fishnet, which consists of loops and knots, and that the word ''loki'' (''lokke'', ''lokki'', ''loke'', ''luki'') is a term for makers of cobwebs: spiders and the like."<ref>{{cite journal|author=Heide, Eldar |url=http://eldar-heide.net/Publikasjonar%20til%20heimesida/Loke-artikkel%20til%20nettsida.pdf |title=Loki, the ''Vätte'', and the Ash Lad: A Study Combining Old Scandinavian and Late Material|journal=Viking and Medieval Scandinavia|volume= 7 |year=2011|pages=63–106 (91)|doi=10.1484/J.VMS.1.102616}}</ref> Though not prominent in the oldest sources, this identity as a "tangler" may be the etymological meaning of Loki's name.

In various poems from the ''Poetic Edda'' (stanza 2 of ''[[Lokasenna]]'', stanza 41 of ''[[Hyndluljóð]]'', and stanza 26 of ''[[Fjölsvinnsmál]]''), and sections of the ''Prose Edda'' (chapter 32 of ''[[Gylfaginning]]'', stanza 8 of ''[[Haustlöng]]'', and stanza 1 of ''[[Þórsdrápa]]'') Loki is alternatively referred to as ''Loptr'', which is generally considered derived from [[Old Norse]] ''lopt'' meaning "air", and therefore points to an association with the air.{{sfnp|Simek|2007|p=197}}

The name ''Hveðrungr'' (Old Norse '?roarer') is also used in reference to Loki, occurring in names for Hel (such as in ''[[Ynglingatal]]'', where she is called ''hveðrungs mær'') and in reference to Fenrir (as in ''[[Völuspa]]'').{{sfnp|Simek|2007|p=166}}