Editing Norns (section)

==Etymology==
The origin of the name {{lang|non|norn}} is uncertain; it may derive from a word meaning 'to twine', which would refer to their twining the thread of fate.<ref name="nordisk"/> Bek-Pedersen suggests that the word {{lang|non|norn}} has relation to the [[Swedish language|Swedish]] dialect word {{lang|sv|norna}} ({{lang|sv|nyrna}}), a verb that means 'communicate secretly'. This interpretation relates to the perception of norns as shadowy, background figures who only really ever reveal their fateful secrets to people as their fates come to pass.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bek-Pedersen|first=Karen|title=Norns in Old Norse Mythology|year=2011|publisher=Dunedin Academic Press|location=Edinburgh, Scotland|isbn=978-1-906716-18-9|page=191}}</ref>

The name {{lang|non|[[Urðr]]}} ([[Old English]]: {{lang|ang|[[Wyrd]]}}, 'weird') means 'fate'. {{lang|ang|[[Wyrd]]}} and {{lang|non|[[urðr]]}} are etymological [[cognate]]s, a situation that does not mean necessarily that {{lang|ang|[[wyrd]]}} and {{lang|non|[[urðr]]}} share the same semantic quality of "fate" over time.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bek-Pedersen|first=Karen|title=Norns in Old Norse Mythology|year=2011|publisher=Dunedin Academic Press|location=Edinburgh, Scotland|isbn=978-1-906716-18-9|page=169}}</ref>  Both {{lang|non|Urðr}} and {{lang|non|[[Verðandi]]}} are derived from the Old Norse verb {{lang|non|verða}}, 'to become',<ref name="Swedish Etymological dictionary">{{cite web|url=https://runeberg.org/svetym/ |title=Swedish Etymological dictionary |publisher=Runeberg.org |access-date=2012-12-30}}</ref> which itself derives from [[Proto-Germanic]] ''*wurdiz'', from [[Proto-Indo-European]] ''*wrti-'', which is a verbal abstract from the root ''*wert-'' ("to turn")<ref>{{cite web| url = https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wyrd| title = wyrd - Wiktionary| date = 7 January 2022}}</ref> Often, it is asserted that while {{lang|non|Urðr}} derives from the past tense ('that which became or happened'), {{lang|non|Verðandi}} derives from the present tense of {{lang|non|verða}} ('that which is happening'). {{lang|non|[[Skuld]]}} is derived from the Old Norse verb {{lang|non|skulu}}, "need/ought to be/shall be";<ref name="nordisk"/><ref name="Online Etymology Dictionary">{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=shall |title=Etymonline.com |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=2012-12-30}}</ref> its meaning is "that which should become, or that needs to occur".<ref name="Swedish Etymological dictionary"/> Due to this, it has often been inferred that the three norns are in some way connected with the past, present and future respectively, but it has been disputed that their names really imply a temporal distinction.<ref name="nordisk"/> It has been emphasised that the words do not in their own right denote chronological periods in Old Norse but rather the idea of past, present, and future in terms of fate itself.<ref>Bek-Pedersen, Karen. 2011. The Norns: Representatives of Fate in Old Norse Tradition. In: Monaghan, Patricia. Goddesses in World Culture. V.2 P.271.</ref>