The Collaborative International Dictionary
Ettin \Et"tin\, n. [SA. eten, eoten, orig., gluttonous, fr. etan
to eat.]
A giant. [Obs.]
--Beau. & Fl.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
an old word for "a giant," extinct since 16c., from Old English eoten "giant, monster," from Proto-Germanic *itunoz "giant" (cognates: Old Norse iotunn, Danish jætte).
Wiktionary
n. 1 (context dialectal archaic fantasy English) A giant. 2 (context role-playing games English) A giant with two heads.
Wikipedia
Ettin, (also "ettin", "etene", "yetun", "ytene", "yotun"), a reconstructed English cognate to the Old Norse Jötunn from the Old English Eoten, may refer to:
- Bogle (also called Ettin), a survival of the term in Northumbrian folklore referring to a malevolent mythical creature
- Ettin (Dungeons & Dragons), a two-headed giant
- Ettins, fictional creatures in Narnia
- Ettin, the twisted, mindless remains of the fighters of the Legion in the computer game Hexen
- Ettins, a species in the Creatures series of computer games
- Ettin, a two-headed monstrous giant found in Ultima game series.
- Ettins, the name given by the Cimmerians (a Norse-descended people) to the Goa'uld in the TV series Stargate SG-1
- Ytene, an early medieval kingdom in west Hampshire, England
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the Ettin is a giant-like creature. The creatures' name derives from Old English eoten 'giant', a word cognate with the Jötunn giants of Norse mythology.
Usage examples of "ettin".
I did the grownups would probably not let you read this book - Cruels and Hags and Incubuses, Wraiths, Horrors, Efreets, Sprites, Orknies, Wooses, and Ettins.
Ettin bought all the pots Haik had, Taiin picking out one with special care.
The Wizard Ponders on This New Paradox Long Into the Night, Taking the Opportunity to Educate the Dwarf Not Only On Trolls But On All Other Manner of Fearsome and Unnatural Monsters, Among Which He Touches Upon, If Only In Passing, Such Creatures As Vampires, Ghouls, Ghasts, Goblins, Hobgoblins, Orcs, Wargs, Werewolves, Ettins, Not To Mention the Divers and Sundry Breeds of Demons, Daemons, Devils and Demodands.
Ettin and said that he was a blank shield from past service with the Borderers, one who thought of returning to Karsten.
The Wizard Ponders on This New Paradox Long Into the Night, Taking the Opportunity to Educate the Dwarf Not Only On Trolls But On All Other Manner of Fearsome and Unnatural Monsters, Among Which He Touches Upon, If Only In Passing, Such Creatures As Vampires, Ghouls, Ghasts, Goblins, Hobgoblins, Orcs, Wargs, Werewolves, Ettins, Not To Mention the Divers and Sundry Breeds of Demons, Daemons, Devils and Demodands.
Father Pelletyr's face collapsed like a souffle in an oven around which an ettin has just commenced a drunken clog dance.